Earn vs Obtain - What's the difference?

Obtain is a synonym of earn.

In transitive terms the difference between earn and obtain

is that earn is to be worthy of while obtain is to get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.

In intransitive terms the difference between earn and obtain

is that earn is to receive payment for work while obtain is to exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force.

As a noun earn

is alternative form of lang=en.

earn

English

Etymology 1

Old English earnian

Verb

(en verb)

(lb) To gain (success, reward, recognition) through applied effort or work.

*:Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

*{{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 12, work=BBC Sport

, title= International friendly: England 1-0 Spain , passage=England will not be catapulted among the favourites for Euro 2012 as a result of this win, but no victory against Spain is earned easily and it is right they take great heart from their efforts as they now prepare to play Sweden at Wembley on Tuesday.}}

(lb) To receive payment for work.

:(rfex)

(lb) To receive payment for work.

(lb) To cause (someone) to receive payment or reward.

(lb) To be worthy of.

Synonyms

* (gain through applied effort or work) deserve, merit, garner, win * * * (cause someone to receive payment or reward) yield, make, generate, render

Derived terms

* earner * earnings * earn one's keep

Etymology 2

Anglo-Saxon irnan to run. See rennet, and compare yearnings.

Verb

(en verb)

(UK, dialect, dated) To curdle, as milk.

Etymology 3

Verb

(en verb)

(obsolete) To long; to yearn.

* Spenser

And ever as he rode, his heart did earn / To prove his puissance in battle brave.

(obsolete) To grieve.

Etymology 4

Noun

(en noun)

(Sir Walter Scott)

(Webster 1913)

Anagrams

* 1000 English basic words ----

obtain

English

Verb

(en verb)

To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way.

* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Luke XVIII:

And a certayne ruler axed him: sayinge: Goode Master: what ought I to do, to obtaine eternall lyfe?

* 1814 , (Jane Austen), (Mansfield Park) :

Julia was quite as eager for novelty and pleasure as Maria, though she might not have struggled through so much to obtain them, and could better bear a subordinate situation.

*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)

, volume=189, issue=2, page=48, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=But the real way to build a successful online business is to be better than your rivals at undermining people's control of their own attention. Partly, this is a result of how online advertising has traditionally worked: advertisers pay for clicks, and a click is a click, however it's obtained .}}

(obsolete) To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached.

* 1722 , (Daniel Defoe), (Colonel Jack) :

he was condemned to die for the felony, and being so well known for an old offender, had certainly died, but the merchant, upon his earnest application, had obtained that he should be transported, on condition that he restored all the rest of his bills, which he had done accordingly.

(obsolete) To prevail, be victorious; to succeed.

* 1590 , (Edmund Spenser), (The Faerie Queene) , III.2:

“O daughter deare!” (said she) “despeire no whit; / For never sore but might a salve obtain [...].”

* 1701 , (Jonathan Swift), Contests and Dissentions in Athens and Rome :

This, though it failed at present, yet afterward obtained , and was a mighty step to the ruin of the commonwealth.

(obsolete) To hold; to keep, possess or occupy.

* 1671 , (John Milton), (Paradise Regained) , Book I:

His mother then is mortal, but his Sire / He who obtains the monarchy of Heav'n, / And what will he not do to advance his Son?

To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force.

* 1908 , (Jack London), (The Iron Heel) , ,

Even though the Pervaise confession had never come to light, no reasonable doubt could obtain ; for the act in question was on a par with countless other acts committed by the oligarchs, and, before them, by the capitalists.

* 1992 , (Neal Stephenson), (Snow Crash) , Bantam Spectra, p. 460,

But the hostage situation no longer obtains , and so Uncle Enzo feels it important to stop Rife now,