attain – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of attain

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to attain
Participle: attained
Gerund: attaining

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

Iattain
youattain
he;she;itattains
weattain
youattain
theyattain

Perfect

Ihave attained
youhave attained
he;she;ithas attained
wehave attained
youhave attained
theyhave attained

Past

Iattained
youattained
he;she;itattained
weattained
youattained
theyattained

Pluperfect

Ihad attained
youhad attained
he;she;ithad attained
wehad attained
youhad attained
theyhad attained

Future

Iwill attain
youwill attain
he;she;itwill attain
wewill attain
youwill attain
theywill attain

Future Perfect

Iwill have attained
youwill have attained
he;she;itwill have attained
wewill have attained
youwill have attained
theywill have attained

Subjunctive

Present

Iattain
youattain
he;she;itattain
weattain
youattain
theyattain

Perfect

Ihave attained
youhave attained
he;she;ithave attained
wehave attained
youhave attained
theyhave attained

Imperfect

Iattained
youattained
he;she;itattained
weattained
youattained
theyattained

Pluperfect

Ihad attained
youhad attained
he;she;ithad attained
wehad attained
youhad attained
theyhad attained

Conditional

Present

Iwould attain
youwould attain
he;she;itwould attain
wewould attain
youwould attain
theywould attain

Perfect

Iwould have attained
youwould have attained
he;she;itwould have attained
wewould have attained
youwould have attained
theywould have attained

Imperative

youattain
weLet's attain
youattain

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam attaining
youare attaining
he;she;itis attaining
weare attaining
youare attaining
theyare attaining

Perfect

Ihave been attaining
youhave been attaining
he;she;ithas been attaining
wehave been attaining
youhave been attaining
theyhave been attaining

Past

Iwas attaining
youwere attaining
he;she;itwas attaining
wewere attaining
youwere attaining
theywere attaining

Pluperfect

Ihad been attaining
youhad been attaining
he;she;ithad been attaining
wehad been attaining
youhad been attaining
theyhad been attaining

Future

Iwill be attaining
youwill be attaining
he;she;itwill be attaining
wewill be attaining
youwill be attaining
theywill be attaining

Future Perfect

Iwill have been attaining
youwill have been attaining
he;she;itwill have been attaining
wewill have been attaining
youwill have been attaining
theywill have been attaining

Conditional

Present

Iwould be attaining
youwould be attaining
he;she;itwould be attaining
wewould be attaining
youwould be attaining
theywould be attaining

Perfect

Iwould have been attaining
youwould have been attaining
he;she;itwould have been attaining
wewould have been attaining
youwould have been attaining
theywould have been attaining

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'attain'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'attain'

attaint, abstain, amain, assain, attach, attack, attame, attask, attorn, attrit,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to gain possession of something
accept, acquire, cop, enlist, gain, garner, get, get hold of, get one's hands on, land, lay hands on, lay hold of, obtain, procure, receive, score, secure, snag, take, win
accomplish
achieve, get, reach, gain, procure, secure, acquire

Antonyms

accomplish
fail, relinquish, nullify, defeat

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

1. c.1300, "to succeed in reaching," from stem of O.Fr. ataindre, from L. attingere "to touch, to arrive at," from ad- "to" + tangere "to touch" (see tangent). Attainment "personal accomplishment" is from 1680.
2. The verb is derived from Middle English atteinen, atteynen (“to achieve, attain; to be adequate or sufficient; to affect; to come or get to (a place), reach; to corrupt, taint; to overcome, overpower; to overtake; to succeed; to tamper with; (law) to bring to justice, punish”), from ataign-, a stem of Anglo-Norman ataindre, and Old French ataindre, attaindre (“to reach”) (modern French atteindre), from Vulgar Latin *attangere, from Latin attingere, the present active infinitive of attingō (“to come into contact with, touch; to affect; to arrive at, reach; etc.”), from ad- (prefix indicating a nearing or reaching) (appearing as at- due to assimilation with the following t, inducing gemination) + tangō (“to grasp, touch; to arrive at, reach; to attain; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂g- (“to grasp; to touch”)). Doublet of attainder and attinge.
3. The noun is derived from the verb. See: Anglo-Norman 'ataindre', Old French 'ataindre', French 'atteindre', Latin 'attingere'.

Verbs referencing "attain"

Occitan aténher, Ido atingar.

Sample Sentences

  • [...] to all less practised compounders; and she would shake her fat sides with honest pride and merriment, as she would narrate the fruitless efforts that one and another of her compeers had made to attain to her elevation. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • ‘“ During the year she has attained great dexterity in the use of the manual alphabet of the deaf mutes; and she spells out the words and sentences which she knows, so fast and so deftly, that only those accustomed to this language [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] Sabbath we have described, St. Clare was invited out to a convivial party of choice spirits, and was helped home, between one and two o’clock at night, in a condition when the physical had decidedly attained the upper hand of the intellectual. Tom and Adolph assisted to get him composed for the night, the latter in high spirits, evidently regarding the matter as a good joke, and laughing heartily at the [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
  • [...] distrust him, merely because he is rewarded; and immediately apply yourselves to find out, either that you have been too bountiful in your acknowledgments, or he remiss in his deserts. Any man who attains a high place among you, from the President downwards, may date his downfall from that moment; for any printed lie that any notorious villain pens, although it militate directly against the character [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
  • [...] enterprises. Let the church of the north receive these poor sufferers in the spirit of Christ; receive them to the educating advantages of Christian republican society and schools, until they have attained to somewhat of a moral and intellectual maturity, and then assist them in their passage to those shores, where they may put in practice the lessons they have learned in America. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)