Definitions

helpful

[help-fuhl] / ˈhɛlp fəl /

ADJECTIVE

beneficial, beneficent

Synonyms

STRONGEST

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

WEAK

accommodating benevolent bettering caring considerate contributive effectual efficacious fortunate good for improving instrumental kind neighborly operative pragmatic serendipitous serviceable symbiotic usable utilitarian

Antonyms

STRONGEST

cold cool disagreeable hindering hurting inappropriate inessential injurious inopportune insignificant minor nonessential trivial unfavorable unfriendly unhelpful unimportant unsociable unsuitable useless worthless

WEAK

disadvantageous harmful hurtful unconstructive

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.

I’ve found budgeting apps like Splitwise to be quite helpful during group trips.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

"That is very challenging, but this unfamiliar data is also very helpful for the robot's growth."

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 2026

Having the Local Nature Recovery Strategy to guide the volunteers has been really helpful, Holden added.

From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026

These might be helpful, anodyne retail chatbots; they also might be utter menaces like Google Docs’ Gemini pop-up.

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2026

It would be most helpful to have a pair of Canadian crutches—forearm crutches, not underarm ones—to help stabilize his walk, but this means someone has to make another trip from the clinic.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Vocabulary lists containing helpful

Beowulf vocabulary

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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3

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Words to Describe a Teacher

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