Help comes in many different forms. To bolster something is "to add to, support, or uphold" that thing. The verb comes from the noun bolster, a cushion or pillow. The idea of cushioning, propping up, or giving a boost is central to the verb. However, while this noun bolster is most likely to prop up a person, the verb bolster is more commonly found in discussion of concepts and ideas. For example, you might bolster a case or an argument, or bolster a friend's confidence. Similarly, internet companies will seek to bolster their traffic, and government agencies strive to bolster the economy.

The verb create, at its most general, means to bring something into being. To devise something is to plan it or think it up. The main action of devise occurs in the mind. An economist may devise a plan or a strategy, for instance, with the goal of creating jobs or wealth. In some older uses, devise carried nefarious and deceptive undertones, as in "The conspirators devised the downfall of the ruler." Nowadays, devise is more neutral, though it may still have a plot or two up its sleeve.

Isn't it amazing how easy it is to overuse the word amazing? Prodigious is a more specific descriptor. Like amazing, prodigious conveys a sense of wonder, but it is used to comment on the size, amount, extent, or degree of what is being described. Items described as prodigious are extraordinary by one of these measures, as a musician with prodigious talent, a research grant of a prodigious amount, or a career notable for its prodigious output.