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Obtain vs Receive - What's the difference?

obtain | receive |

Receive is a antonym of obtain.



As verbs the difference between obtain and receive

is that obtain is to get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way while receive is to take, as something that is offered, given, committed, sent, paid, etc.; to accept; to be given something.

As a noun receive is

an operation in which data is received.

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,

    receive

    English

    Alternative forms

    * (obsolete)

    Verb

    (receiv)
  • To take, as something that is offered, given, committed, sent, paid, etc.; to accept; to be given something.
  • :
  • *(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
  • *:Our hearts receive your warnings.
  • *(John Locke) (1632-1705)
  • *:The idea of solidity we receive by our touch.
  • *(Bible), viii.64:
  • *:The brazen altar that was before the Lord was too little to receive the burnt offerings.
  • *, chapter=19
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=Nothing was too small to receive attention, if a supervising eye could suggest improvements likely to conduce to the common welfare. Mr. Gordon Burnage, for instance, personally visited dust-bins and back premises, accompanied by a sort of village bailiff, going his round like a commanding officer doing billets.}}
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-05-25, volume=407, issue=8837, page=74, magazine=(The Economist)
  • , title= No hiding place , passage=In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.}}
  • To take possession of.
  • To act as a host for guests; to give admittance to; to permit to enter, as into one's house, presence, company, etc.
  • :
  • *(Bible), (w) xxviii.2:
  • *:They kindled a fire, and received us every one.
  • *
  • *:In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass.Strangers might enter the room, but they were made to feel that they were there on sufferance: they were received with distance and suspicion.
  • To suffer from (an injury).
  • :
  • To allow (a custom, tradition, etc.); to give credence or acceptance to.
  • *(Bible), (w) vii.4:
  • *:Many other things there be which they have received to hold, as the washing of cups, and pots.
  • (lb) To detect a signal from a transmitter.
  • (lb) To be in a position to take possession, or hit back the ball.
  • # To be in a position to hit back a service.
  • #(lb) To be in a position to catch a forward pass.
  • To accept into the mind; to understand.
  • *, I.57:
  • *:I cannot receive that manner, whereby we establish the continuance of our life.
  • Noun

    (en noun)
  • (telecommunications) An operation in which data is received.
  • sends and receives