help

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

n. servant[s], staff, employees; aid, assistance, succor; relief, remedy. —v. assist, serve, befriend; relieve, ameliorate, better.

See aid, auxiliary.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Assistance]

Syn. advice, cooperation, guidance; see aid 1 .

2. [Employees]

Syn. aides, representatives, hired help; see assistant , staff 2 .

3. [Physical relief]

Syn. maintenance, sustenance, nourishment; see relief 4 , remedy 2 .

v.

1. [To aid]

Syn. aid, assist, abet, succor, uphold, advise, encourage, stand by, cooperate, intercede for, patronize, befriend, accommodate, work for, back up, maintain, sustain, prop, benefit, bolster, lend a hand, do a service, see through, do one's part, cheer, give a hand, be of use, come to the aid of, bail out, be of some help, help along, do a favor, promote, endorse, sanction, back, advocate, abet, stimulate, uphold, second, further, work for, stick up for*, take under one's wing*, go to bat for*, side with*, give a lift*, boost*, take in tow*, pitch in*, set to*; see also support 2 .

Ant. oppose*, rival, combat.

2. [To assist in recovery]

Syn. attend, nourish, doctor*; see heal 1 , nurse , revive 2 , treat 3 .

3. [To serve at table]

Syn. wait on, accommodate, tend to; see serve 4 .

4. [To improve]

Syn. better, correct, ease; see improve 1 .

• cannot help but,

Syn. be compelled to, be obliged to, cannot fail to, have to; see must .

• cannot help oneself,

Syn. be compelled to, have a need to, be the victim of circumstance, be the victim of habit; see must .

• so help me God,

Syn. as God is my witness, by God, I swear; see oath 1 .

Syn.- help is the simplest and strongest of these words meaning to supply another with whatever is necessary to accomplish his or her ends or relieve his or her wants; aid and assist are somewhat more formal and weaker, assist esp. implying a subordinate role in the helper and less need for help [ she assisted him in his experiments ] ; succor suggests timely help to one in distress [ to succor a besieged city ]

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

assistance, aid, hand, succor, support, boost, contribution, lift, service, guidance.

II

v.

1. assist aid, lend a hand, support, boost, contribute, lift, serve, guide, accommodate, do a favor, succor, abet, *pitch in, oblige, *go to bat for, *stick up for, back, promote, rescue, save, extricate, *throw a lifeline.

2. improve alleviate, ameliorate, mitigate, relieve, remedy, cure, allay, better, benefit.

ANT.: 1. hinder, hamper, *throw up a roadblock. 2. make worse, aggravate

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To give support or assistance. Also used with out: abet, aid, assist, boost, relieve, succor. Idioms: give (or lend) a hand, give a leg up. See HELP. 2. To advance to a more desirable state: ameliorate, amend, better1, improve, meliorate, upgrade. See HELP. II noun 1. The act or an instance of helping: abetment, aid, assist, assistance, hand, relief, succor, support. See HELP. 2. A person who helps: abettor, aid, attendant, helper, reliever, succorer. See HELP.