The verbs get and obtain both imply gaining possession of something. But obtain suggests more effort toward that end. For instance, you might hear of information or permission being obtained after having been sought out or requested. This is not always the case with the verb get, which sometimes implies no effort. For instance, that lucky friend who will get the perfect birthday present from you may be blissfully unaware of how difficult it was to obtain!

Something that is spurious is not genuine, authentic, or true. The particular brand of falsehood implied by this slippery adjective depends on what it is describing. When describing objects, such as an artifact or a document, spurious means counterfeit or forged. When describing accusations or claims, spurious veers more toward deliberately misleading or insincere. And when applied to reasoning, as in a spurious argument or spurious correlations, spurious means something closer to faulty or flawed.

The verb manifest means “to make clear or evident” or “to show plainly.” Things manifested—such as feelings, intentions, or conditions—are typically made apparent through actions or behaviors. For instance, anxiety might manifest itself in an inability to sleep. Or, more pleasantly, a friend might manifest or show approval of something with a hearty laugh.