help 1 of 2

verb

ˈhelp How to pronounce help (audio)
Definition of helpnext
1
as in to assist
to provide (someone) with what is useful or necessary to achieve an end offered to help her widowed father when he moved into an apartment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to alleviate
to make more bearable or less severe the new ointment didn't help Josh's sunburn one bit

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to prevent
to keep from happening by taking action in advance they couldn't help the way things turned out

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to benefit
to provide with something useful or desirable being independently wealthy certainly helped him during his years as a struggling young artist

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to improve
to make better some minor revisions would help this essay immensely

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

help

2 of 2

noun

1
as in assist
an act or instance of helping I could use your help getting this tire back on the car

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in benefit
a thing that helps the computer is a great help for writing reports

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in staff
a body of persons at work or available for work it's so hard to get good help these days

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word help distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of help are ameliorate, better, and improve. While all these words mean "to make more acceptable or to bring nearer a standard," help implies a bettering that still leaves room for improvement.

a coat of paint would help that house

In what contexts can ameliorate take the place of help?

Although the words ameliorate and help have much in common, ameliorate implies making more tolerable or acceptable conditions that are hard to endure.

tried to ameliorate the lives of people in the tenements

How do improve and better relate to one another, in the sense of help?

Both improve and better are general and interchangeable and apply to what can be made better whether it is good or bad.

measures to further improve the quality of medical care
immigrants hoping to better their lot

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of help
Verb
They’re intended to help Democratic Senate and House candidates that will determine congressional control. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026 Maia 300 is also a key part of Microsoft’s own AI model work, and could help the company achieve its goal of catching up with Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Anthropic. — Tom Warren, The Verge, 12 Oct. 2026
Noun
France, Britain and Pakistan have committed support, while other allies like Turkey are considering sending help. — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 11 Oct. 2026 With the help of bystanders, the deputies got Von Herbulis up the nearby stairs from the water to the dock. — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for help
Recent Examples of Synonyms for help
  1. assist
  2. alleviate
  3. prevent
  4. benefit
  5. improve
  6. assistance
  7. advantage
  8. staff
Verb
  • She was assisted by corrections officers in exiting the witness room.
    — JAMIE STENGLE, Arkansas Online, 8 Oct. 2026
  • These people greet and check in voters, provide them with ballots, assist with tabulation and/or assist with processing absentee ballots.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of assist
Verb
  • An energy truce between Ukraine and Russia could help to alleviate the oil and gas crunch ahead of winter.
    — Garrett Downs, CNBC, 11 Oct. 2026
  • The Waleses support various causes and organizations, including those working to prevent and alleviate homelessness.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of alleviate
Verb
  • Anthropic contacted the task force to disclose the latest incident and has a history of reporting security episodes publicly and tweaking models to prevent more harm.
    — Ashley Gold, semafor.com, 13 Oct. 2026
  • There are scores of websites, social-media groups, and YouTube channels dedicated to analyzing and documenting crashes, ostensibly with the goal of preventing future mishaps in flight.
    — Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of prevent
Verb
  • The Salty, an artisanal doughnut chain, is running a weeklong campaign benefiting the Breasties, a nonprofit that helps many groups of people affected by breast cancer.
    — Henri Hollis, AJC.com, 10 Oct. 2026
  • In fact, making the effort to maintain friendships can benefit you too, says Ayers, who researches the science of friendship and how to maintain connections.
    — Renée Onque, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of benefit
Verb
  • The company is reviewing costs, operations, and portfolio of brands to improve performance.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But Hall and Woodford, in separate contributions, set about improving the Keynesian model to take into account how consumers and businesses actually make decisions about whether to invest and spend.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of improve
Noun
  • The Hope Florida Foundation supports Hope Florida, a signature initiative of DeSantis and his wife, Casey, that has aimed to get people off government assistance by connecting them with nonprofits and churches instead.
    — Liv Caputo, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2026
  • In 1867, the British government united its North American colonies to form the Canadian Confederation, in part to deter Washington from invading Canada in retaliation for London’s assistance to the Confederacy during the Civil War.
    — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of assistance
Noun
  • There are advantages to having a merged Paramount+/HBO Max streaming group, Kogel says.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
  • My breadth of experience from my upbringing to fighting for Arkansans from all walks of life, gives me an advantage in understanding that life story every person brings into my court.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of advantage
Noun
  • The staff is incredibly friendly and helpful—don't expect any pretense here, just genuine (and enjoyable) engagement.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Brice is nice If Misiorowski is the ace of Milwaukee’s pitching staff, the offense runs through former Corona Santiago High star Brice Turang, who is one of just three major leaguers to score at least 102 runs and drive in 100 in the regular season.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of staff

Browse Nearby Words

helots
help
helped
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Cite this Entry

“Help.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/help. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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