What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Gained vs Learned - What's the difference?

gained | learned |

As a verb gained

is (gain).

As an adjective learned is

(poetic).

gained

English

Verb

(head)
  • (gain)
  • Anagrams

    *

    gain

    English

    Etymology 1

    From dialectal English (m), (m), short for (m), . More at (l).

    Preposition

    (English prepositions)
  • (obsolete) Against.
  • Derived terms
    * (l)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) (m), (m), , from the adjective.

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.
  • the gainest way
  • (obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.
  • (dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.
  • (dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.
  • Derived terms
    * (l) * (l)

    Adverb

    (en adverb)
  • (obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.
  • (dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.
  • (dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.
  • gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) (m), . The Middle English word was reinforced by (etyl) . Related to (l), (l).

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of gaining.
  • * Tennyson
  • the lust of gain
  • What one gains, as a return on investment or dividend.
  • No pain, no gain .
  • * Shakespeare
  • Everyone shall share in the gains .
  • (electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.
  • Antonyms
    * loss
    Derived terms
    * autogain * gainful * gainsome

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To acquire possession of what one did not have before.
  • Looks like you've gained a new friend.
  • * Bible, Matthew xvi. 26
  • What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
  • * Alexander Pope
  • For fame with toil we gain , but lose with ease.
  • To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.
  • The sick man gains daily.
  • * Bible, Ezekiel xxii. 12
  • Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion.
  • (dated) To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.
  • to gain''' a battle; to '''gain a case at law
  • To increase.
  • * 1883 , (Howard Pyle), (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood)
  • Then they had bouts of wrestling and of cudgel play, so that every day they gained in skill and strength.
  • To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
  • I'm gaining (on you).
    gain ground
  • To reach.
  • to gain the top of a mountain
  • * 1907 , Jack London, The Iron Heel :
  • Ernest laughed harshly and savagely when he had gained the street.
  • To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.
  • * Bible, Matthew xviii. 15
  • If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
  • * Dryden
  • to gratify the queen, and gain the court
  • To put on weight.
  • I've been gaining .
  • (of a clock or watch) To run fast.
  • Etymology 4

    Compare (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.
  • Anagrams

    * (l) * (l) * (l), (l) ----

    learned

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) lerned, from (etyl)

    Verb

    (head)
  • (US) (learn): taught
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having much learning, knowledgeable, erudite; highly educated.
  • * 1590 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , III.iii:
  • the learned Merlin, well could tell, / Vnder what coast of heauen the man did dwell [...].
  • * 1854 , Charles Edward Pollock, Lake v. Plaxton , 156 Eng. Rep. 412 (Exch.) 414; 10 Ex. 199, 200 (Eng.)
  • My learned Brother Cresswell directed the jury to make the calculation [...].
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year=2011 , month=Feb , author=Jess Lourey , coauthors= , title=A Pyramid Approach to Novel Writing , volume=124 , issue=2 , page=30-32 , magazine=Writer , passage=The book opens with the Time Traveler dining with learned peers in late 1800s England, where he is trying to convince them that he has invented a time machine. }}
  • * {{quote-magazine
  • , year=2011 , month=Spring , author=Jill Lepore , coauthors= , title=How Longfellow Woke the Dead , volume=80 , issue=2 , page=33-46 , magazine=American Scholar , passage=HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW used to be both the best-known poet in the English-speaking world and the most beloved, adored by the learned and the lowly ... }}
    My learned friend (a formal, courteous description of a lawyer)
    Alternative forms
    *
    Usage notes
    * This adjectival sense of this word is sometimes spelled with a grave accent. This is meant to indicate that the second ‘e’ is pronounced as , rather than being silent, as in the verb form. This usage is largely restricted to poetry and other works in which it is important that the adjective’s disyllabicity be made explicit.
    Synonyms
    * (having much knowledge) brainy, erudite, knowledgeable, scholarly, educated * See also
    Antonyms
    * (having little knowledge) ignorant, stupid, thick, uneducated
    Derived terms
    * learnedly * learnedness

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl)

    Alternative forms

    * learnt

    Verb

    (head)
  • (learn)
  • Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Derived from experience; acquired by learning.
  • Everyday behavior is an overlay of learned behavior over instinct.

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * English heteronyms