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Synonyms

helpful

American  
[help-fuhl] / ˈhɛlp fəl /

adjective

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

    Your comments were very helpful.
    Synonyms:
    advantageous, beneficial, convenient, useful
    Antonyms:
    inconvenient, useless
helpful British  
/ ˈhɛlpfʊl /

adjective

  1. serving a useful function; giving help

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of helpful

First recorded in 1300–50; help + -ful

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

They were useful in the first days of the regime, while power was still being consolidated and shimmers of diversity were helpful.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026

Aga said: "I think it's very helpful to actually see what the surgeon is talking about."

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

What is most helpful to sustaining those expansionary periods now and in the future?

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Chromosomal inversions do more than preserve helpful traits.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Mice were helpful if you made friends with them.

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.