BETTERING Synonyms: 155 Similar and Opposite Words

bettering 1 of 2

adjective

as in constructive

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

bettering

2 of 2

verb

present participle of better

as in surpassing

to be greater, better, or stronger than this year's profits should better last year's by a wide margin

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

losing (to)

as in improving

to make better social workers and reformers trying to better the lives of inner-city residents

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 bettering

Verb

As a senator, her priorities include supporting economic development, bettering police and community relations, securing funding for educational programs and passing policies for affordable housing, according to her campaign website. — Alula Alderson, Sacbee.com, 27 Sep. 2026 Parton dedicated her life and career to bettering the world in so many ways, from her Dollywood theme park to her Imagination Library, which has promoted childhood literacy through delivering millions of books to children. — Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 25 Aug. 2026 His revered mentor, José Antonio Abreu, who founded the educational program in 1975 with the conviction that learning music can, in bettering lives, lead to profound social change. — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026 One event of note is the City of Milwaukee Police Department's District 5 National Night Out, aimed at bettering the relationship between law enforcement and the community through a fun night of games. — Everett Eaton, jsonline.com, 31 July 2026 Asking for feedback is only one step of the process in bettering your organization. — Kate Wieczorek, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 Second in Austria marked Verstappen’s best result of the season — bettering his third in Canada. — Madeline Coleman, New York Times, 29 June 2026 Arbitrarily limiting that possibility has nothing to do with bettering the game and everything to do with limiting what ownership spends. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 18 June 2026 The goal made Kane England’s most prolific international goal scorer of all time, bettering Wayne Rooney’s previous record of 53 goals. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for bettering

Adjective

The United States needs to revive its powers of attraction and treat its neighbors with respect to restore and expand a constructive continental partnership.

— Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
The hope for all in the paddock will be for constructive efforts to ensure any similar events are prevented in the future.

— Luke Smith, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of constructive

Verb

But in terms of student achievement, Asian students have performed more like white students, frequently surpassing white students academically.

— Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
Simulating real-world quantum errors Last year, JUPITER simulated a full 50-qubit universal quantum computer under ideal, noiseless conditions, surpassing the previous 48-qubit record established by Jülich researchers in 2019 on Japan’s K computer.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of surpassing

Verb

Boston Dynamics’ approach focuses on improving the connection between engineering and manufacturing, with faster component production and assembly intended to support more rapid development.

— Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 Oct. 2026
Seaport upgrades Ralliant to buy from neutral Seaport said the outlook is improving.

— Michael Bloom, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of improving

Adjective

The Snow’s pressure-relieving foam combined with supportive springs results in a bed that’s comfortable, but not plush to a fault.

— Nashia Baker, Architectural Digest, 21 Oct. 2026
The nuns modeled how to create a sustaining, supportive community.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of supportive

Verb

Businesses remained the main source of research investment, with enterprise spending exceeding around $420 billion for the first time, accounting for more than 77% of the national total.

— Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
He is also accused of exceeding his authority under Ohio law by failing to identify any statutory or constitutional source of legal authority for his order.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of exceeding

Verb

Among the felony charges Textor faces are five counts of fraud against a financial institution, 13 counts of forgery, two counts of counterfeiting, five counts of fraud and seven counts of fraud with enhancing circumstances.

— Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
Despite this, national reports indicate continued use of performance- and appearance-enhancing drugs, and increasing interest in them.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of enhancing

Adjective

But gainful employment and truly gainful employment — that is, with more pay and status — are two different things.

— Joel Mathis, TheWeek, 7 Oct. 2026
The move by the shop owner launched a flurry of online discourse about the tripod-wielding gaggle of usually young, almost always female influencers who parade their phones around in the hopes of building, or nurturing, a gainful following.

— Elizabeth Gulino, Allure, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of gainful

Verb

Across the broader ecosystem, major Republican organizations had roughly $1 billion available, eclipsing the $579 million available for comparable Democratic groups, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.

— Luke Fountain, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
For Spring/ Summer 2027, established ambassadors and global fandoms continued to drive social engagement, with Thai drama stars eclipsing K-pop idols for the first time to dominate the overall ranking.

— Amy Francombe, Vogue, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of eclipsing

Browse Nearby Words

better halves

bettering

betterment

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Bettering.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bettering. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of bettering

adjective

verb

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