attaining

verb

present participle of attain
1
as in achieving
to obtain (as a goal) through effort Napoléon had attained mastery of much of Europe at that point

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in earning
to receive as return for effort with hard work she will inevitably attain success in her chosen profession

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of attaining This older world is often focused on common American ideals of individualism and grit as the primary tools for attaining personal success. — Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026 In other words, what happens when their agreeable or polite approach to attaining something doesn’t work? — Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 But the White House cut its offices and weakened its ability to follow up with cases, as well as slashed funding to research on disparities that people of color face in getting diagnosed and attaining resources for disabilities. — Claire Sibonney, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026 What came to me was a simple but valuable intuition that healing is not about attaining the grace of God, but about the loving freedom that comes from reflecting God! — Dilshad Khambatta Eames, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026 Financial firms are now gearing up to jump into the market in a different way, as executives like Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and KKR's Waldemar Szlezak see AI equipment attaining familiar money-making characteristics. — Kif Leswing, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026 One way to think about Mahler’s extravagant 90-minute exercise in his search for life’s meaning is as an exercise in attaining optimism in the face of tragedy. — Classical Music Critic, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2026 Interest in attaining at least a bare-bones understanding in computer science — and particularly AI-enhanced coding — has exploded across different majors. — ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026 But while the landmark ruling reopens the path to citizenship for thousands worldwide, attaining it may be a different story. — Julia Buckley, CNN Money, 29 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attaining
  1. achieving
  2. earning
  3. winning
  4. gaining
  5. reaping
  6. obtaining
  7. garnering
  8. making
Verb
  • That's a big step toward Verstappen achieving his target of avoiding a first winless season since his 2015 rookie year.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The auditor would examine whether the program is achieving its goals, how to cut the program’s costs by at least 10% annually and other areas.
    — Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of achieving
Verb
  • Stallone also found work as an usher at a movie theater, earning just $34 a week.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • While De Luca and Abdy had a great run at the box office last year, this year has been littered with myriad misfires including The Bride, The End of Oak Street with no movie earning more than $100M stateside.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of earning
Verb
  • Initially, 18 full-size models were built during an internal competition called Project Renaissance, from which the winning design was selected.
    — Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
  • From Big Talk Studios, the International Emmy Award-winning detective drama, starring David Mitchell and Anna Maxwell Martin, follows a genius puzzle setter navigating life as a police consultant.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of winning
Verb
  • Ruerup quickly rose through the ranks at Oxxford, gaining experience with everything from product and design to marketing and technology.
    — Jean E. Palmieri, Footwear News, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Stream, a strategic partner for Talpa Studios, focused on creating formats for the streaming generation, has developed several other titles that are gaining traction in the market.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of gaining
Verb
  • Victim of its own success However, the fact that demand for Novo’s products—and production—abroad is so massive means that its domestic economy isn’t reaping all the benefits.
    — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The tech sector of the S&P 500 has seen its forward price/earnings multiple contract from 29 to 21 in the past year with the market unwilling to extrapolate the profit surge in the absence of a clear path back to reaping oodles of free cash flow.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of reaping
Verb
  • One limitation of obtaining court orders against counterfeiters is the difficulty of enforcing them in foreign jurisdictions.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Caputo said the idea for the citizenship-for-investment program emerged during Milei's July 2024 visit to Sun Valley, Idaho, when tech executives expressed interest in obtaining Argentine citizenship.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of obtaining
Verb
  • After community outreach and a survey garnering more than 2,600 responses, city staff and a subcommittee composed of four city council members selected Union Plaza as its top recommendation to rename the park.
    — Jennah Pendleton, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Since then, OpenAI has reported other incidents of agents acting without authorization from humans, garnering concerns from AI safety advocates.
    — Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of garnering
Verb
  • Crafting the ‘nudge’ As an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University, Carleton spent two summers working in a Johns Hopkins prostate cancer lab and was surprised to see surgeons making a point to attend the department’s journal club.
    — Allessandra DiCorato, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
  • If the waiver is granted, callers would still be limited by certain conditions, including allowing consumers to opt out and making no more than three calls within 30 days to each individual recipient.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of making

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attaining
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Cite this Entry

“Attaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attaining. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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