helping 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of helpingnext
1
as in aiding

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Dissimilar Words
2
as in assisting

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Dissimilar Words

helping

2 of 2

verb

present participle of help
1
as in supporting
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

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2
as in alleviating
to make more bearable or less severe the new ointment didn't help Josh's sunburn one bit

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3
as in preventing
to keep from happening by taking action in advance they couldn't help the way things turned out

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4
as in benefiting
to provide with something useful or desirable being independently wealthy certainly helped him during his years as a struggling young artist

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5
as in improving
to make better some minor revisions would help this essay immensely

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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 helping
Adjective
And right now, the Eric Dane story isn’t much helping. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 14 Apr. 2026
Verb
Their first seven runs came off the lefty’s heater, helping the Cubs build a 9-0 advantage through four innings. — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026 Here’s a look at how policy changes and protocol changes in high school football are helping make the sport safer. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026 Six months later, two Boy Scouts from Gilbert and a man helping chaperone them drowned in a rain-swollen wash near Sunflower on March 28, 1998. — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 Mike Moore, the former Mississippi attorney general who took on Big Tobacco, is now helping state AGs craft a potential master settlement with social media companies. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026 Police said information received from the community played an important role in helping investigators locate Ruff. — Luke Matheson Pine Bluff Commercial, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2026 The fewer than 200 attendees at last week’s semi-secret session in the museum’s intimate Clive Davis Theater had done a good job of helping keep the nature of the performance under wraps until now. — Chris Willman, Variety, 25 Aug. 2026 As part of the effort, the Treasury Department designated nearly 60 individuals, entities, and vessels accused of helping Iran evade previously existing sanctions. — Christian Datoc, The Washington Examiner, 24 Aug. 2026 An Orange County sheriff’s deputy was flagged down, called Fullerton police and was helping the victim when police officers arrived, Wells said. — Nathaniel Percy, Oc Register, 24 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for helping
  1. supportive
  2. assisting
  3. alleviating
  4. preventing
  5. benefiting
  6. improving
  7. assistant
  8. aiding
Adjective
  • Still, a supportive connection between the moon, Neptune and Pluto retrograde adds a deeper undercurrent to all the buzzing and socializing.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 3 Sep. 2026
  • He's argued that allowing foreign adversaries like China to outpace the US in developing AI could be a risk to national security, but his administration has been very supportive of AI despite the growing backlash.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of supportive
Verb
  • However, cooler heads prevailed, with respectful interactions afterward, and Khabib Nurmagomedov even assisting Song.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • While Taunton was assisting, another vehicle hydroplaned toward them and Taunton pushed a person at the scene out of the way.
    — Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of assisting
Verb
  • Europe’s efforts are for now too modest, too regulated, too fragmented, and too focused on alleviating government restrictions rather than promoting commercial use to fundamentally change dependencies that have accumulated over decades.
    — Kurt M. Campbell, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • In 2021, in hopes of alleviating economic pressures during the pandemic, Congress passed legislation eliminating premiums for people with the lowest incomes and reduced the cost for people with higher incomes.
    — Robert Applebaum, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of alleviating
Verb
  • According to Lupo, cost is the single biggest factor preventing California’s major cities from placing high.
    — Gagandeep Singh, Sacbee.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Although dates are naturally high in sugar, their fiber can slow digestion, preventing sugar from being absorbed quickly into the bloodstream.
    — Abby Norman, Verywell Health, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of preventing
Verb
  • The higher standards down the pecking order can help keep the brightest talent in the game for longer, with the next generation benefitting from that wisdom.
    — Katie Whyatt, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2026
  • That is how a working household starts benefiting from compounding.
    — Michael Faulkender, Baltimore Sun, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of benefiting
Verb
  • The catalyst for improving the life conditions of Americans, our hemisphere, and everyone in the world, is to massively expand energy production around the world.
    — Willa Rubin, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
  • From helping people lose weight to controlling their blood sugar to tamping down inflammation and improving heart health, these medications herald a new age of medicine.
    — Jacek Krywko, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of improving
Adjective
  • This position — especially once assistant head coach Frank Smith arrived — requires immense mental aptitude.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Teron is the assistant director at the Alliance for Positive Change Keith Haring Harlem Center.
    — Joel Teron, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of assistant
Verb
  • The 22-year-old ran out to his balcony and filmed a chaotic scene of officers aiding a victim and people scattering as the shots rang out.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026
  • If investors see this play out, this overhang on the stock may ease, further aiding valuation.
    — Harvey Stober, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of aiding

Phrases Containing helping

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helpfully
helping
helping hand
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Cite this Entry

“Helping.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/helping. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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