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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

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help

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noun

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
So what does the live show look like without the camera and studio magic that helps hide the puppeteers onscreen? Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 16 Mar. 2025 Mirrors and Glass For mirrors and glass surfaces, shaving cream can not only get the material clean, but can also help prevent fogging. Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2025
Noun
There are several ways to get help filing your taxes. Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, The Courier-Journal, 6 Feb. 2023 That’s when content teams should get some help from AI tools in handling the details. John Hall, Forbes, 5 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for help
Recent Examples of Synonyms for help
Verb
  • Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee under states of emergency Ahead of the storms, several governors declared states of emergency to unlock funds and resources to assist in the preparation of the severe weather and eventual recovery effort.
    Christopher Cann, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2025
  • Modern technology assists with navigation, but there’s no substitute for a pilot’s local knowledge.
    David Nikel, Forbes.com, 3 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The surfeit of interested workers has not alleviated the labor shortage.
    Emily Witt, New Yorker, 28 Mar. 2025
  • Starting the hiring process doesn’t alleviate their workload in the interim.
    Nolan Hout, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Such defenses include profiling victims before an attack is mounted, and can even provide an escape path to a benign alternative to prevent the threat being flagged.
    Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Rather than address the underlying medical issues that prevent conception, IVF acts as a Band-Aid solution, artificially fertilizing eggs outside the womb in a laboratory.
    John Oertle, National Review, 6 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • While Chris' construction of a xenon-halogen laser to solve the power problem was purely theoretical at the time, the underlying scientific details were later outlined in a scientific paper—a fitting example of how science and Hollywood can both benefit from such collaborations.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Companies also benefit by downsizing office space and tapping into a broader talent pool.
    Felicia Faber, FOXNews.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The medications can offer benefits for people with type 2 diabetes, such as improving glycemic control, insulin activity, curbing post-meal blood sugar spikes, and protecting the heart and kidneys, Basina said.
    Julia Ries, Health, 9 Apr. 2025
  • While most people's symptoms improve, many who are unvaccinated can suffer greatly.
    Sara Moniuszko, CBS News, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Other growth areas included social assistance and retail, which both added 24,000, while transportation and warehousing showed a 23,000 increase.
    Jeff Cox, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Taking action to foster partnerships and coordination mechanisms among public and private stakeholders will help streamline finance flows, improve technical assistance and build local financial capacity.
    Nina Seega, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Those who embrace these technologies now will likely find themselves with a considerable advantage in the increasingly competitive digital landscape.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025
  • And Osceola will continue to have homecourt advantage in the Finals against Stockton.
    Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Photograph by David Surowiecki In the Reviews and Criticism category, the prize went to a trio of pieces by the former staff writer Parul Sehgal.
    The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Demetrius Simms Demetrius Simms is a digital staff writer at Robb Report.
    Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 10 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Help.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/help. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

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