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self-help

self-help

44 3.6
To try to improve your life alone using books or courses
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛlfˌhɛlp/
translation icon : autoayuda
  • Given this situation, practitioners should use self-help books with some degree of caution.
  • self-help books
  • self-help groups
  • mutual self-help

But so many people think the self help industry is about things you do.

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Examples

  • Angie loves to listen to audiobooks, mainly self help books, as she sleeps.

  • Read self help books, watch self help YouTube videos.

  • I read, you know, I read every self help book I get my hands on.

  • I, I read a lot of self help, self development books.

  • It's going to be a self help book for people who believe in quitting.

  • I've been in the self help world for a long time.

  • Just because it is self help doesn't mean it can't help you.

  • I read blogs, self-help books, et cetera.

  • Powerful, positive biographies, autobiographies, self help books, motivational books.

  • I often turn to self-help books to gain new insights into personal growth.

Synonyms

self-improvement
vsself-help
12 4.0

A process of trying to make yourself better in skills, knowledge, or habits

focuses on solving concrete problems using books courses or specific techniques

How Independent

self-reliance
17 4.1
self-help
44 3.6
guidance
248 2.1

Surface Forms

self-help singular
self-helps plural

Morphology

self-help = self + help (transparent) = self + help

A direct compound of 'self' + 'help' whose meaning (help provided by oneself) is readily inferable from the components.

Etymology

Self-help combines self ('your own') and help ('assistance'), so it literally means 'helping yourself'. That's why the word describes books, courses, or methods people use to improve their lives on their own without relying on others.