different between construct vs obtain

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin constructus, from construo (“I heap together, build, make, construct, connect grammatically”), from com- (“together”) + struo (“I heap up, pile”). Doublet of construe.

Pronunciation

Noun

• (UK) enPR: k?n'str?kt, IPA^(key): /?k?n.st??kt/
• (US) enPR: kän'str?kt, IPA^(key): /?k?n.st??kt/

Verb

• (UK, US) enPR: k?n-str?kt', IPA^(key): /k?n?st??kt/
• Rhymes: -?kt

Noun

construct (plural constructs)

1. Something constructed from parts.

2. A concept or model.

3. (genetics) A segment of nucleic acid, created artificially, for transplantation into a target cell or tissue.

Synonyms

• (something constructed from parts): construction
• (concept, model): concept, idea, model, notion, representation

Related terms

Translations

Verb

construct (third-person singular simple present constructs, present participle constructing, simple past and past participle constructed)

1. (transitive) To build or form (something) by assembling parts.

2. (transitive) To build (a sentence, an argument, etc.) by arranging words or ideas.
   • 1997, Marita Sturken, Tangled Memories

     The Vietnam War films are forms of memory that function to provide collective rememberings, to construct history, and to subsume within them the experience of the veterans.

3. (transitive, geometry) To draw (a geometric figure) by following precise specifications and using geometric tools and techniques.

Synonyms

• (build or form by assembling parts'): assemble, build, form, make, produce, put together
• (build (a sentence or argument)): form
• (draw (a geometric figure)):

Antonyms

• (build or form by assembling parts): destroy, disassemble, dismantle, ruin, wreck, take apart

Derived terms

• deconstruct
• overconstruct
• reconstruct
• unconstruct

Related terms

Translations

Further reading

• construct in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• construct in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• construct at OneLook Dictionary Search

English

Etymology

From Anglo-Norman obtenir, optiner et al., and Middle French obtenir, from Latin obtin?re (“to gain, achieve, succeed, possess”), from ob- + ten?re (“to hold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?te?n/
• Rhymes: -e?n
• Homophone: abthane

Verb

obtain (third-person singular simple present obtains, present participle obtaining, simple past and past participle obtained)

1. (transitive) To get hold of; to gain possession of, to procure; to acquire, in any way. [from 15th c.]
   • 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?
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To secure (that) a specific objective or state of affairs be reached. [15th–19th c.]
   • 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.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To prevail, be victorious; to succeed. [15th–19th c.]
   • 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.

4. (transitive, obsolete) To hold; to keep, possess or occupy. [15th–18th c.]
5. (intransitive) To exist or be the case; to hold true, be in force. [from 17th c.]
   • 1908, Jack London, The Iron Heel, ChapterXVII,

     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, […]

Related terms

Translations

Anagrams

• Bonita, boat-in