I heard one of these adjectives the other day and immediately thought of the other one.
Problem:
These two adjectives appear to be antonyms but are not antonyms in today’s usage.
Explanation:
The core definition of the adjective “helpful” is rendering or giving assistance or aid.
An example of the correct use of this adjective is “The helpful teller made all bank patrons feel good about the bank’s services.”
In other words, someone who is helpful is someone who is of service.
There are four basic definitions of the adjective “helpless”:
- dependent or weak, as in “He is helpless without his wife.”;
- incompetent or powerless, as in “The employee is helpless without her supervisor.”;
- involuntary or impossible to control, as in “They suffered from helpless crying upon seeing the effects of the tornado.”;
- unable to provide help, as in “The helpless waiters discouraged diners from returning to the restaurant.”
The fourth definition of “helpless” is obsolete, so “helpless” in today’s language is not an antonym of “helpful”.
Solution:
Remember that “helpless” can mean the opposite of “helpful” in older books but is not the antonym of “helpful” today.