Definition
To garner is to gather in and store up — originally grain into a granary, now more often praise, support, votes, or evidence. The word implies patient collection rather than a single windfall: you garner a reputation over years, a campaign garners support one backer at a time. It pairs naturally with things that are earned and accumulated through effort, so 'garner support' carries a sense of slow, deserved gain rather than luck.
Examples
- An idea that genuinely seems to resonate with people will garner support faster than any slogan.
- Over the season the young striker managed to garner the kind of attention that careers are built on.
- The study garnered praise for its rigour, even from its longtime skeptics.
Collocations
garner support·garner attention·garner praise·garner votes·garner interest
Synonyms
gather·accumulate·amass·collect·attract
Antonyms
lose·squander·forfeit
Word family
garnering (noun)
In TOEFL & IELTS
A more sophisticated alternative to 'get' or 'gather' in IELTS/TOEFL Writing: 'the proposal garnered widespread support'. It collocates strongly with abstract gains — support, attention, praise, votes — rather than physical objects. Slightly formal and increasingly common in journalism. Pronounce it GAR-ner.