helpful

[help-fuhl]

adjective

1. giving or rendering aid or assistance; of service.

   Your comments were very helpful.

   Synonyms: advantageous, beneficial, convenient, useful
   Antonyms: inconvenient, useless

helpful

/ ˈhɛlpfʊl /

adjective

1. serving a useful function; giving help

Other Word Forms

• helpfully adverb
• helpfulness noun
• overhelpful adjective
• overhelpfully adverb
• overhelpfulness noun
• quasi-helpful adjective
• quasi-helpfully adverb
• unhelpful adjective
• unhelpfully adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of helpful¹

First recorded in 1300–50; help + -ful

Example Sentences

Or because of an ever-growing pile of reports from different think tanks or research groups making helpful suggestions that have grabbed headlines too.

Read more on BBC

Bonta said he hired lawyers to help him review information in his possession that could be helpful to federal investigators.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Looking into the real-life and social media presence of an artist can be one helpful indicator of whether or not they are real.

Read more on BBC

Applying for an increase in your credit limit can give you some financial wiggle room, which can be helpful if you are planning to purchase big-ticket items.

Read more on MarketWatch

Our work suggests that to encourage people to take that step, it’s helpful to first give them a chance to see others’ empathy and care, just by presenting truthful data about human kindness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• accessible 
• advantageous 
• applicable 
• conducive 
• constructive 
• convenient 
• cooperative 
• crucial 
• essential 
• favorable 
• friendly 
• important 
• invaluable 
• practical 
• productive 
• profitable 
• significant 
• suitable 
• supportive 
• sympathetic