ASSISTANT Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

assistant 1 of 2

noun

ə-ˈsi-stənt

Definition of assistant

as in aide

a person who helps a more skilled person the chief assistant to the director

Synonyms & Similar Words

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assistant

2 of 2

adjective

as in assisting

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 assistant

Noun

The poll, conducted by Savanta for AI meeting assistant company Bluedot, also found that 23% have used the restroom during a meeting with their cameras off, 14% have shopped online and 13% have exercised. — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026 My partner Karla might say no, more of a production assistant. — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 17 Oct. 2026

Adjective

Mackenzie’s a somewhat underrated figure, a Scottish filmmaker who worked with Ken Loach as an assistant director before embarking on his own career making similar works of social realism for British film and television. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 16 Oct. 2026 Four days later, Masterson forwarded that message to his assistant director. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for assistant

Recent Examples of Synonyms for assistant

Noun

Javier Rezendez Rocha, who joined LADWP as an aide to electricians, was charged with 12 counts of felony vandalism in connection with the string of incidents that lasted from August 2025 to August 2026, according to a criminal complaint.

— James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026
The president turned to his new aide, who identifies as a lawyer.

— Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of aide

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

Noun

Founding and patenting gabardine Thomas Burberry, a cloth merchant’s apprentice, established his own shop in 1856 in Basingstoke, England, then a rural town located southwest of London.

— Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026
For carpenters, delays and poor weather conditions can disrupt the working hours apprentices need to complete their program, causing some to quit.

— Itzel Franco, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of apprentice

Adjective

Like the East India Companies and the Rothschild banks, which were ultimately subordinate to the governments of the metropole, frontier labs have been granted extraordinary latitude in exchange for advancing the metropole’s position.

— NIALL FERGUSON, Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2026
Those objectives must remain subordinate to safety and security constraints.

— Gregory Shahnovsky, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of subordinate

Noun

Tracy Rieff is stepping down from his role of deputy fire chief after 36 years of volunteering with the Farmington Fire Department.

— Lynn Kutter, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
But while critics on the Israeli right railed against the deal, Netanyahu’s deputies worked behind the scenes to preserve it, according to correspondence obtained by TIME.

— Eric Cortellessa, Time, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of deputy

Noun

Get assistance with heating bills The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps qualified households with one-time financial assistance for heating and electricity bills, as well as emergency aid to prevent shut-offs.

— Dan Avery, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
After a detailed briefing with an ATI staff member, I was kitted out with a folder packed with maps, a Namibian cell phone pre-programmed with key contacts, and a first-aid kit.

— Samantha Falewée, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of aid

Noun

But that hasn’t stopped out-of-state reenactors from worrying their muskets will be confiscated at the George Washington Bridge, says Justin Costantino, adjutant of the Long Island Companies of the 3rd New York Regiment.

— Allen G. Breed, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2026
In the months since fellow senior Legion executives suspended Abrahamson without pay from his statewide adjutant job in April, a number of the roughly 8,000 members in Idaho have called for a change in leadership.

— Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman, 13 July 2024

Definition of adjutant

Noun

To be fair, a genre that’s given us everything from brooding, sparkling emo kids who play baseball; a stake-wielding teen slayer who can’t quit the bad boy; and eccentric sidekicks who feast on bugs is ripe with material for mockery.

— Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Other contestants this season include Food Network host Giada De Laurentiis, Summer House’s Ciara Miller, Jimmy Kimmel Live sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez, and musician Taylor Hanson.

— Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of sidekick

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assistant

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“Assistant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assistant. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of assistant

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

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