Attainable vs Achievable

From my understanding, attain, (we shall attain X) usually has a sense of struggle or fight against the odds, like you will struggle against the GA to raid Manitcoran shipping. Achieve, on the other hand, usually has the connotations that the odds are in your favor and you will perform the task easily. It means the SLN will shut down Manticoran shipping. The first poster is correct. Attain has an edge of pessimism or overcoming something, while achieve is more often positive and has a connotation that the task will be easy. Also, do not disparage ESL speakers, this is supposed to be a welcoming forum and it is an honest question about two words that have slightly different connotations. Attain has an edge of pessimism or realism, while achieve is more often positive.

/English first language, high score on verbal GRE

J6P wrote:

roseandheather wrote: J6P: Usage of any language is all about connotation. I suggest taking an English 100 class at your local community college.

Better yet, save your money, open a paper based, LARGE dictionary and start reading. Use flash cards for memorization. Then actively use new words and connotations several times a day. If you do not use it, you lose it.

Be amazed at how your vocabulary will expand and likewise your ability to read comprehensively instead of remaining in a befuddled state on any discussion containing words longer than 2 consonants.

Bah. Dictionaries are crap. They have denotation, but not connotation. No, you want to widen your vocabulary? Read. Read everything. SNIP

You cannot get one without the other. If you just read, one gets the wrong meaning of the word quite often. Then you go take a test finding out your "idea", since you do not really know, what the word really means is complete crap.

Been there, done that with egg all over my face. Requires a dictionary. What is worse, the author is full of crap and mis-used the word.

roseandheather wrote:
Bah. Dictionaries are crap. They have denotation, but not connotation. No, you want to widen your vocabulary? Read. Read everything. Romance novels, SF, biographies, popular science books, historical nonfiction, crime novels, fantasy, young adult, textbooks, magazines, plays. That's what is going to widen your vocabulary, because you'll see the words in-context and used to create a specific mood.

Source: Been reading constantly for twenty years. Affectionately known as "the talking dictionary".

I totally agree with you there, Rose. I'm the same way. I think I have a pretty expansive vocabulary and it's because I read, read, read all the time. My friends even point it out and they get all excited when I use a new word and they learn the definition from me.

Hi Amaroq,

Kudos.

I Love Winston Spencer Churchill's motto.

So you have possibly the best tag I've seen.

L

Amaroq wrote:

roseandheather wrote:
Bah. Dictionaries are crap. They have denotation, but not connotation. No, you want to widen your vocabulary? Read. Read everything. Romance novels, SF, biographies, popular science books, historical nonfiction, crime novels, fantasy, young adult, textbooks, magazines, plays. That's what is going to widen your vocabulary, because you'll see the words in-context and used to create a specific mood.

Source: Been reading constantly for twenty years. Affectionately known as "the talking dictionary".

I totally agree with you there, Rose. I'm the same way. I think I have a pretty expansive vocabulary and it's because I read, read, read all the time. My friends even point it out and they get all excited when I use a new word and they learn the definition from me.