Synonyms of help

help 1 of 2

verb

ˈhelp 

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

• assist
• aid
• support
• reinforce
• encourage
• save
• facilitate
• back
• promote
• abet
• bolster
• guide
• bear a hand
• prop (up)
• forward
• endorse
• serve
• backstop
• comfort
• further
• rescue
• foster
• benefit
• sponsor
• attend
• advise
• to stand one in good stead
• sustain
• launch
• ease
• patronize
• advance
• succor
• minister (to)
• champion
• mentor
• boost
• nurture
• care (for)
• counsel
• buttress
• oblige
• profit
• bail out
• embolden
• hearten
• deliver
• favor

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hinder
• restrain
• interfere
• impede
• inhibit
• constrain
• hamper
• oppose
• thwart
• fail
• obstruct
• block
• frustrate
• hold back
• bar
• strangle
• balk
• discourage
• sabotage
• handicap
• disappoint
• baffle
• let down
• inconvenience
• foil
• hurt
• desert
• stifle
• harm
• retard
• repress
• injure
• damage
• dishearten
• stunt
• straiten

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

• alleviate
• relieve
• soothe
• ease
• mitigate
• soften
• improve
• allay
• heal
• assuage
• cure
• enhance
• mollify
• palliate
• remedy
• lighten
• temper
• better
• fix
• moderate
• correct
• rectify
• repair
• amend
• abate
• perfect
• refine
• enrich
• ameliorate
• reform
• mend
• emend
• meliorate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hurt
• impair
• harm
• injure
• aggravate
• exacerbate
• intensify
• sharpen
• heighten

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

• prevent
• avert
• preclude
• avoid
• provide
• obviate
• forestall
• head off
• escape
• anticipate
• save
• stave off
• deter
• hinder
• evade
• thwart
• neutralize
• shake
• impede
• nullify
• frustrate
• stop
• hamper
• elude
• deflect
• interfere (with)
• negate
• forbid
• retard
• balk
• prohibit
• offset
• counteract
• shun
• eschew
• check
• compensate (for)
• make up (for)
• ward (off)
• circumvent
• fend (off)
• inhibit
• stall
• block
• counterbalance
• baffle
• foil
• halt
• dodge
• arrest
• bar
• checkmate
• shirk
• duck

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• assist
• aid
• facilitate
• encourage
• ease
• promote
• let
• forward
• abet
• smooth
• foster
• allow
• advance
• leave
• cultivate
• further
• permit
• unclog
• nurture

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

• benefit
• avail
• assist
• serve
• advantage
• profit
• aid
• improve
• succeed
• please
• work (for)
• better
• satisfy
• bless
• content
• delight
• gratify
• gladden

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hinder
• impede
• hurt
• impair
• harm
• injure
• damage
• distress
• upset
• afflict

5

as in to improve

to make better

some minor revisions would help this essay immensely

Synonyms & Similar Words

• improve
• enhance
• better
• refine
• perfect
• enrich
• ameliorate
• amend
• remedy
• remediate
• upgrade
• reinforce
• strengthen
• rectify
• meliorate
• correct
• intensify
• rehabilitate
• revise
• reform
• boost
• edit
• fine-tune
• refurbish
• fortify
• rework
• revamp
• fine
• hone
• emend
• polish
• rehab
• beef (up)
• redraft
• touch up
• retouch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hurt
• worsen
• harm
• impair
• injure
• spoil
• damage
• reduce
• vitiate
• tarnish
• diminish
• flaw
• disfigure
• lessen
• blight
• deface
• mar
• endamage
• lower
• blemish

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• assist
• assistance
• support
• boost
• aid
• lift
• encouragement
• advice
• hand
• backing
• helping hand
• guidance
• service
• leg up
• kindness
• abetment
• promotion
• facilitation
• attention
• advancement
• furtherance
• forwarding
• sponsorship
• care
• counsel
• mentoring
• patronage
• nurturance
• attendance
• furthering
• relief
• favor
• succor
• benefaction
• beneficence
• charity
• hand-holding
• philanthropy
• assuagement
• palliation

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• interference
• hindrance
• obstruction
• restraint
• inhibition
• frustration
• repression
• constraint
• deterrence
• discouragement

2

as in benefit

a thing that helps

the computer is a great help for writing reports

Synonyms & Similar Words

• benefit
• advantage
• asset
• aid
• boon
• support
• resource
• lift
• blessing
• sustenance
• pick-me-up
• hand
• recourse
• refuge
• godsend
• resort
• windfall

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hindrance
• disadvantage
• impediment
• drawback
• minus
• obstacle
• restraint
• liability
• encumbrance
• obstruction
• constraint
• inhibitor
• stranglehold

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

• staff
• manpower
• workforce
• pool
• personnel
• crew
• labor force
• force
• worker
• employee
• support
• team
• company
• helper
• labor
• squad
• band
• party
• gang
• proletariat
• rank and file
• blood
• outfit
• hireling

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

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

Recent Examples of help

Verb

The Suns didn’t help themselves with 19 turnovers, mistakes Oklahoma City turned into 34 points. —Doug Haller, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026

The mission’s detailed investigation of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Apr. 2026

Noun

Attempts to refloat the mammal with the help of police boats, excavators and inflatable boats had temporarily freed it. —ABC News, 20 Apr. 2026

His wife’s sister, who called for help minutes after the shooting started, escaped with a child by jumping from the roof, police and family members said Monday. —Sophie Bates, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026