help

1 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 Synonyms abet, aid, assist, back, backstop, prop (up), support Related Words advance, ease, facilitate, forward, foster, further, launch; champion, endorse (also indorse), patronize, promote, sponsor; attend, care (for), comfort, minister (to), succor; sustain; bolster, boost, buttress, reinforce (also reenforce); advise, counsel, guide, mentor, nurture; bail out, deliver, rescue, save; embolden, encourage, hearten; benefit, favor, oblige, profit, serve Phrases bear a hand, to stand one in good stead Near Antonyms balk, bar, block, constrain, hamper, handicap, hold back, impede, inhibit, obstruct, restrain, strangle; baffle, foil, frustrate, inconvenience, interfere, oppose, sabotage, thwart; desert, disappoint, fail, let down; discourage, dishearten; repress, retard, stifle, straiten, stunt; damage, harm, hurt, injure Antonyms hinder

2 to make more bearable or less severe the new ointment didn't help Josh's sunburn one bit Synonyms allay, alleviate, assuage, ease, mitigate, mollify, palliate, relieve, soothe Related Words abate, lighten, moderate, soften, temper; cure, heal, remedy; amend, correct, emend, fix, mend, rectify, reform, repair; ameliorate, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine Near Antonyms harm, hurt, impair, injure; heighten, intensify, sharpen Antonyms aggravate, exacerbate

3 to keep from happening by taking action in advance they couldn't help the way things turned out Synonyms avert, forestall, head off, prevent, obviate, preclude, stave offRelated Words anticipate, provide; negate, neutralize, nullify; save; baffle, balk, checkmate, deter, foil, frustrate, thwart; bar, block, hamper, hinder, impede, interfere (with), retard, stall; deflect, fend (off), stop, ward (off); avoid, circumvent, dodge, duck, elude, escape, eschew, evade, shake, shirk, shun; forbid, inhibit, prohibit; arrest, check, halt, stop; compensate (for), counteract, counterbalance, make up (for), offsetNear Antonyms abet, aid, assist; ease, facilitate, smooth, unclog; advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, foster, further, nurture, promote; allow, leave, let, permit

4 to provide with something useful or desirable being independently wealthy certainly helped him during his years as a struggling young artist Synonyms advantage, avail, benefit, profit, serveRelated Words succeed, work (for); aid, assist; better, improve; content, delight, gladden, gratify, please, satisfy; blessNear Antonyms hinder, impede; damage, harm, hurt, impair, injure; afflict, distress, upset

5 to make better some minor revisions would help this essay immensely Synonyms ameliorate, amend, better, enhance, enrich, improve, meliorate, perfect, refine, upgradeRelated Words correct, emend, rectify, reform, remediate, remedy; edit, fine-tune, redraft, refurbish, rehab, rehabilitate, revamp, revise, rework; beef (up), boost, fortify, intensify, reinforce (also reenforce), strengthen; fine, hone, polish; retouch, touch upNear Antonyms damage, endamage, harm, hurt, impair, injure, spoil, tarnish, vitiate; blemish, blight, deface, disfigure, flaw, mar; diminish, lessen, lower, reduceAntonyms worsen