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.

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

From Barron's • Jun. 11, 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

“I think sometimes it’s helpful just having somebody who’s there to hold your hand,” she says of her friend Liou.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

I have no experience with investing, so any advice would be helpful.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026

But then some creatures came skulking around who were not helpful at all.

From "The Wild Robot Escapes" by Peter Brown

Vocabulary lists containing helpful

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Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 3

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