The right receive synonym depends on what is arriving and how formal you want to sound. In daily speech, get is almost always the natural swap. In letters and reports, obtain, accept, collect and be awarded add precision.
Receive covers more ground than people expect. You receive a parcel, a prize, an injury, a guest and a reaction to your proposal, and every one of them pulls in a separate set of verbs. Sorting them first saves you from awkward swaps, and a later section deals with received and receiving.
Swatch at a glance
Best swaps
get, be given, obtain, collect, earnPart of speech
Verb (transitive)Most formal
be in receipt of, acquire, be grantedMost casual
get, pick up, landAntonyms
give, send, refuseWatch out
Accept means you agree to take it. You can receive a bill without accepting it.Word forms covered
receives, received, receiving
Receive by situation: a quick table
| What arrives | Natural verbs | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mail, parcels, messages | get, be sent, collect, pick up | I picked up the parcel at the depot. |
| Prizes, grants, degrees | be awarded, win, earn, be granted | She was awarded a travel grant. |
| Payments and income | be paid, collect, take in | The shop took in twice its usual sales. |
| Injuries, criticism | suffer, sustain, meet with | The driver sustained minor cuts. |
| Guests | welcome, greet, host | The mayor greeted the delegates. |
Choosing a receive synonym for tone
The strip of five words at the top climbs from casual to formal. Nearly everyone says get out loud. Be given stresses that another person handed it over. Collect means you went and fetched it. Obtain hints at effort, as with a permit or a visa, and acquire suits buying or slowly building something up, like skills or property.
Office mail has one more option: we are in receipt of your letter. It is correct but stiff. Most modern teams prefer we have received or simply thanks for your letter.
Before and after: swaps that sound natural
- Did you receive my email becomes did you get my email.
- He received a scholarship becomes he was awarded a scholarship or he won a scholarship.
- Patients receive physiotherapy twice a week becomes patients undergo physiotherapy twice a week.
- The plan received heavy criticism becomes the plan met with heavy criticism.
- Applicants must receive approval first becomes applicants must obtain approval first.
- The family received us warmly becomes the family welcomed us warmly.
A shipping reply: "We have received your return and will process it soon." Changing received to collected would be wrong, since the customer mailed it. A safe alternative is your return has arrived, which turns the parcel into the subject and reads more lightly.
Words for received and receiving
A good received synonym keeps the same tense. For the past form, the usual swaps are got, was given, obtained, accepted and was awarded. Received also works as an adjective in the phrase received wisdom, meaning an idea most people accept without checking. There, try conventional, accepted or standard.
For receiving, think of the role: a receiving clerk handles deliveries, and a receiving line greets wedding guests. In a sentence like she is receiving treatment, use undergoing or having.
Well received has its own family: popular, praised, applauded, warmly greeted.
Traps when you replace receive
Accept adds consent. Nobody accepts a parking fine happily, but plenty of drivers receive one. Take can sound like grabbing, so took a bribe and received a bribe tell very different stories in court. Gain suggests growth, which suits experience but not a phone call. And acquire sounds odd for small, everyday things: you do not acquire a text message.
See the accept synonyms and obtain synonyms pages for those words in depth.
The other direction: antonyms
The giver side of the deal uses give, send, offer, provide and donate. Saying no to something arriving uses refuse, reject, decline or turn down.
- We sent the forms on Monday.
- She turned down the job offer.
More strong verbs are gathered in the action verbs hub.
Frequently asked questions
Receive in an official letter: which swap sounds stiffest?
Be in receipt of tops the formality chart and mostly turns up in official letters. Obtain and acquire are formal but still read smoothly.
Is get too informal to use instead of receive?
Not in most writing. Get is fine in emails and everyday reports. In legal or academic text, receive or obtain reads more precisely.
What do I say instead of received in a work email?
Thanks for sending this, this has arrived, or I have your file all sound friendly. Got it works for a quick reply to a colleague you know well.
How is receive different from accept?
Receive only means something reached you. Accept means you agreed to take it or keep it. A rejected package was received but not accepted.
What are antonyms of receive?
Give, send and provide are the direct opposites. Refuse, reject and turn down are opposites when the point is saying no.
Which verb fits receiving an award?
Be awarded, win, earn or be honored with. Earn highlights the work behind it, while win suggests a competition.