excessive help

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase 'excessive help' is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe help that is more than what is necessary or wanted. For example, "Despite my request for only minimal assistance, my neighbor offered me excessive help."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

5 human-written examples

BBC Radio Sussex's Alex Winter: "It was clearly difficult to get started, even though the pitch showed no signs of excessive help for the bowlers.

BBC

The results of some studies (e.g. Xu, 2007; Xu, Du, & Fan, 2016) indicated that family help was positively associated with the development of homework management abilities, but other studies (e.g. Silinskas, Kiuru, Aunola, Lerkkanen, & Nurmi, 2015) showed that excessive help, especially when children are perceived by their mothers as not very autonomous, led to poorer academic performance.

Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica

Clinton voters are equally unlikely to say there's excessive help being provided either to people like them or to most Americans in general.

Huffington Post

Again, it's on a course slightly brown and bumpy, with huge greens that run true but don't look it, and with natural grass and gorse that have survived for hundreds of years without excessive help from high-paid groundskeepers and hourly sprinkling.

Los Angeles Times

These examples (elderspeak, excessive help, and so on) illustrate that our behavior is not always adapted to the elderly and that the psychosocial needs associated with aging are not always taken into consideration.

Clinical interventions in aging

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

52 human-written examples

Reducing employment protection on new permanent contracts, where it is excessive, can help stimulate the hiring of the unemployed on more stable contracts as the recovery takes hold.

IZA Journal of Labor Policy

The Constitution says nothing about this!" But when he is imprisoned for "excessive dissenting," help arrives in the form of Ginsburg — breaking through a glass ceiling to rescue him.

Los Angeles Times

Third, did providing excessive home help services lead to a greater proportion of the users to decline as the Ministry has claimed?

BMC Health Services Research

"Rather than taking the EU bonus cap to court, the UK government should be ensuring such excessive wealth helps pay for the sector's past mistakes," Hillman said.

The Guardian - Business

In total, LVMH will receive 760 million euros in profits from its investment in Gucci at a time when shareholders have begun to worry about its excessive debt, helping to ease Mr. Arnault's disappointment at losing the battle.

The New York Times

The excessive precipitation helped increase monthly rainfall amounts in the region to three times above average.

Wikipedia

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "excessive help", consider the recipient's perspective. Ensure your wording reflects whether the help was genuinely unwanted or simply more than required.

Common error

Avoid assuming "excessive help" is always detrimental. While often unwanted, sometimes extra assistance can be beneficial in unexpected ways or during critical situations. Consider the context before using this phrase with a negative connotation.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "excessive help" functions primarily as a noun phrase, where "excessive" modifies the noun "help". It describes the degree or amount of assistance provided. Ludwig AI confirms that it's usable in written English to describe help that is more than necessary.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

40%

Wiki

20%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "excessive help" is a noun phrase used to describe assistance that goes beyond what is needed or desired. Ludwig AI confirms its correctness and usability in English writing. It is found primarily in News & Media and Science contexts, with a neutral register. Related phrases include "unnecessary assistance" and "undue support". When using this phrase, consider the context and the potential negative implications of too much assistance. While the phrase itself is grammatically correct, it's important to ensure its use aligns with the intended meaning and avoids misinterpretations.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

unnecessary assistance

Emphasizes the lack of need for the help provided.

unwarranted assistance

Focuses on the lack of justification for the help provided.

undue support

Suggests the support is inappropriate or unfair.

over-assistance

Highlights the act of providing too much help.

inappropriate intervention

Focuses on the unsuitability of the help in a given situation.

smothering support

Implies the help is overwhelming and possibly detrimental.

intrusive aid

Suggests the help is unwanted and interferes with autonomy.

superfluous aid

Highlights that the aid or help is unnecessary.

overzealous help

Highlights the excessive enthusiasm behind the assistance.

over the top help

Informal way to convey that the help provided is beyond what's needed.

FAQs

What does "excessive help" mean?

"Excessive help" refers to assistance that is more than what is necessary or desired. It implies that the help provided is either overwhelming or hindering the recipient's ability to learn or manage independently.

How can I use "excessive help" in a sentence?

You can use "excessive help" in a sentence like this: "Despite my request for minimal assistance, my neighbor offered "unnecessary assistance"." or "The student's academic performance suffered due to "smothering support" from their parents."

What are some alternatives to saying "excessive help"?

Instead of "excessive help", you could use phrases like "unnecessary assistance", "undue support", or "over-assistance", depending on the specific nuance you want to convey.

Is providing "excessive help" always a bad thing?

While often perceived negatively, whether "excessive help" is bad depends on the context. In some cases, it may hinder independence or create dependence, while in others, it might provide reassurance or prevent potential problems.