HAND-HOLDING Synonyms: 48 Similar and Opposite Words

hand-holding

noun

as in assistance

patient and attentive guidance encouragement, or instruction New computer users often require a good deal of hand-holding.

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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 hand-holding The service Don't expect any hand-holding here. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Mar. 2026 That balance is always important, between difficulty and hand-holding. —

Chris Plante, Vulture, 10 Feb. 2026 Ratner captures lots of hand-holding, little connection. —

Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026 OpenAI is now offering agents that are more about automating workflows—logging into applications, executing tasks, and managing tasks without much human hand-holding. —

Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026 And in the sweetest bit of romance so far, Lady Bridgerton herself seems one step closer to acting on her attraction to Lady Danbury's brother Lord Anderson (Daniel Francis), with the two sharing a (scandalous) moment of hand-holding at the ball. —

Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 Jan. 2026 There are no more smiles and no more hand-holding, only two sad adults. —

Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026 There’s no spoon-feeding or hand-holding. —

Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 15 Jan. 2026 Cross-train staff, delegate decision making early, and build a leadership layer that doesn’t need hand-holding. —

Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-holding

Noun

Police told Fox News Digital that the case is being investigated by IMPD’s Violent Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the FBI, and that an evidence technician responded to the scene to photograph and collect evidence.

— Michael Dorgan, FOXNews.com, 7 Apr. 2026
Meanwhile, knowledge workers were a bit more optimistic about their job security; 39% of these specialized finance and insurance workers, 35% of health care and social assistance employees, and 32% of technology services staffers strongly agreed their jobs were safe from being cut last year.

— Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 7 Apr. 2026