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Apr 4, 2011 23:16
13 yrs ago
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English term

more than helpful

English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I need an adjective to define a person who is more than "helpful", someone who is always trying to please you and goes ahead to your needs. More than "caring"!
Responses
3 devoted, warmhearted
3 +3 (someone who) goes the extra mile
4 thoughtful and accomodating person (who goes out of his or her way) to help you
3 overwhelmingly helpful
3 over-attentive

Discussion

J Fox Apr 6, 2011:
depends how negative you want it well-meaning implies that the person has the best intentions but it doesn't always go as planned. So it's a kind thing to say and isn't so negative.

over-attentive is a bit more negative because it implies that you are feeling smothered by the attention and the other person hasn't realised that.

So the choice of word depends on your attitude towards the attention.
Patsy Florit (asker) Apr 6, 2011:
I cannot close this question because I´m not sure about the word yet. The answer I think is the most suitable is in the discussion entry. Can I say that a person is over-attentive meaning he´s helpful but overdoes it and the results are not always good? I need a not so positive adjective. Perhaps well-meaning could do too. I´m a little confused. Sorry!
Alison MacG Apr 5, 2011:
(a little) too eager/over eager to please Not a single adjective, but something like this may be a way to convey the sense you are looking for, perhaps adding "sometimes".
It is of course even possible to use "over-eager-to-please" as an adjective, as here, for example:
And Chris Addison, who played the over-eager-to-please hanger-on Ollie in The Thick Of It
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturecritics/david-grit...

Another example in this blog: By all accounts I was a horrendous waitress – forgetful, clumsy, nervous and just a little too eager to please.
http://jerseymomsblog.com/2010/07/22/how-i-found-myself-in-t...
Armorel Young Apr 5, 2011:
So you don't actually want something that sounds overwhelmingly positive? I have to say that to my ears "always trying to please you" sounds like a description of someone with low self-confidence who is desperate for approval, and your use of the word "compliant" rather supports this view. I'd be wondering about something like "almost over-attentive" or "almost over-assiduous" in order to hint that there is potentially a negative side to this - but it really does depend on just what you want to convey.
Mark Nathan Apr 5, 2011:
You want all this in one adjective? I think you are going to have to break it down e.g. "always well-intentioned and extremely helpful"
Patsy Florit (asker) Apr 4, 2011:
I´d like to add that this person is compliant but sometimes things don´t come out well because she´s rather clumsy although well-intentioned.

Responses

22 mins
Selected

devoted, warmhearted

compassionate, considerate, generous, dedicated, supportive...

might be options!

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Note added at 52 mins (2011-04-05 00:09:13 GMT)
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Your discussion entry indicates the results aren't always as intended. This could be 'well-meaning' - but you would use this to talk about someone, not to their face, as it implies less than positive results.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Now yes, the answer is more clear! Thanks a lot!"
8 mins

thoughtful and accomodating person (who goes out of his or her way) to help you

Two terms+ to get all your ideas in!
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+3
47 mins

(someone who) goes the extra mile

Peer comment(s):
agree MedTrans&More
49 mins
agree Thayenga : Yes! :)
6 hrs
agree Phong Le
13 hrs
Something went wrong...
8 hrs

overwhelmingly helpful

I don't now whether this has the right nuance.

The Danes have an expression - literally ´half of it would be enough,´said with a wry smile - but it doesn´t work in English and I miss it now and then!

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Note added at 9 hrs (2011-04-05 08:44:27 GMT)
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I sometimes work in something like ´too much of a good thing´
-- as Mark Nathan points out, it is impossible in a single word, and you need to show in the phrasing that you are being gently ironic somehow.

´Helpful as a three-year-old´ springs to mind!
(I love three-year-olds, don´t misunderstand me, but I have on occasions spent a lot of time tidying and cleaning up after helpful three-year-olds, and some of my most vivid childhood memories are of grown-ups who did not quite appreciate my help at that age...)

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Note added at 11 hrs (2011-04-05 10:19:57 GMT)
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If this person is not the childlike innocent, maybe obsequiously helpful is the expression you are looking for?
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2 days 8 hrs

over-attentive

I'm going to post this as a possible answer so it can stand alongside the others. It can of course be modified in different ways, depending on the degree of positivity or negativity you want to convey - so you could say "verging on over-attentive" or "almost over-attentive" or "occasionally over-attentive" etc.
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