acquire vs absorb

acquire and absorb both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
acquire	No	No	Yes	No
absorb	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, absorb is a hyponym of acquire; that is, absorb is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than acquire:

Other hyponyms of acquire include relearn, catch up, assimilate, ingest, take in, hit the books, study.

acquire (verb)	absorb (verb)
come to have or undergo a change of (physical features and attributes)	cause to become one with
take on a certain form, attribute, or aspect	take up mentally
gain through experience	consume all of one's attention or time
gain knowledge or skills	devote (oneself) fully to
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract	take in, also metaphorically
win something through one's efforts	become imbued
locate (a moving entity) by means of a tracking system such as radar	assimilate or take in
	take up, as of debts or payments
	suck or take up or in