fairly helpful

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "fairly helpful" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe something that provides a moderate level of assistance or usefulness. Example: "The tutorial was fairly helpful in understanding the basic concepts of the software."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

7 human-written examples

Global warming is only fairly helpful: although Cornwall has been getting warmer, it has also been getting wetter.

The Economist

It doesn't take more than a few shots of writers actually clutching cats as they scribble away to realize that having them around might be fairly helpful.

The New Yorker

If all goes well, this month's meeting in Baghdad, and a second one planned at a more senior level for April, could blossom into a "contact group" of the sort that proved fairly helpful in Bosnia during the Balkan wars.Talking is good.

The Economist

I understand that government lawyers regard the latest ruling on whether prisoners should have the right to vote as "fairly helpful".

BBC

During the two decades, Friends of Nature has established its marvelous social reputation, broad networks, and various resources (including funding, media, experts, member, NPC delegates, NGO partners, etc)., which were fairly helpful during the advocacy.

The Journal of Chinese Sociology

I won't be too specific about the serious mental-health issues that Pierce struggles with except to say that they tend to be fairly helpful, all things considered.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

52 human-written examples

Respondents from testing laboratories relied on PhD training and post-PhD clinical training to equip them, and majorities reported these as fairly or helpful resources.

BMC Health Services Research

By contrast, physicians were significantly less well served by their formal education; only 16.6% reported finding their undergraduate medical education fairly or very helpful and only 43.5% reported that their postgraduate medical education was fairly or very helpful.

BMC Health Services Research

One of the reasons Silicon Drinkabout has worked so well in London is that, along with a fairly welcoming and helpful atmosphere, spearheaded by the inclusive nature of 3beards themselves, it happens as regular as clockwork.

TechCrunch

Respondents from referring labs relied more heavily on undergraduate and post-graduate medical education, and most of these found such resources fairly or very helpful.

BMC Health Services Research

Respondents from both testing and referring laboratories shared positive views regarding the helpfulness of most continuing educational resources, with majorities perceiving most identified resources as fairly or very helpful in maintaining knowledge of MOT.

BMC Health Services Research

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "fairly helpful", consider the context. It suggests a moderate level of assistance, so ensure it accurately reflects the situation. If something is exceptionally useful, stronger terms like "very helpful" or "invaluable" might be more appropriate.

Common error

Avoid using "fairly helpful" when describing something that provides significant or critical assistance. This can downplay its importance and mislead the reader.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "fairly helpful" primarily functions as an adjectival phrase. It modifies a noun, indicating a moderate level of assistance or utility. As Ludwig AI states, the phrase is correct and usable in written English. The examples on Ludwig demonstrate its use in diverse contexts, from describing the effects of global warming to evaluating educational resources.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

32%

Science

32%

Wiki

14%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "fairly helpful" is a grammatically sound phrase used to describe something that provides a moderate degree of assistance or usefulness. According to Ludwig AI, it's perfectly acceptable in written English. It appears across various contexts, including news, science, and general knowledge, with a neutral tone. When using this phrase, ensure it accurately reflects the level of assistance provided and consider stronger alternatives if something is exceptionally useful. As the examples on Ludwig show, "fairly helpful" serves as a balanced and moderate assessment.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

moderately beneficial

Replaces "helpful" with "beneficial" and "fairly" with "moderately", focusing on the positive outcome.

somewhat useful

Substitutes "fairly" with "somewhat" and "helpful" with "useful", indicating a degree of utility.

reasonably advantageous

Emphasizes the benefit by using "advantageous" instead of "helpful" and "reasonably" instead of "fairly".

kind of supportive

Uses a more colloquial tone with "kind of" and focuses on the supportive aspect.

quite valuable

Highlights the worth of something, replacing "helpful" with "valuable" and "fairly" with "quite".

passably effective

Focuses on the effectiveness with a qualifier of "passably", indicating it works adequately.

serviceable to some extent

Indicates that something is usable and provides a degree of service.

marginally assisting

Highlights the assistance provided, though only to a marginal degree.

to a certain degree advantageous

It expresses in a more articulated way a degree of usefulness.

not unhelpful

Uses a double negative to express a mild degree of helpfulness.

FAQs

What does "fairly helpful" mean?

The phrase "fairly helpful" means moderately useful or providing a reasonable amount of assistance. It suggests something is beneficial but not to a great extent.

How can I use "fairly helpful" in a sentence?

You can use "fairly helpful" to describe something that provides a moderate level of assistance or usefulness. For example: "The tutorial was "fairly helpful" in understanding the basic concepts of the software."

Which is correct, "fairly helpful" or "very helpful"?

Both "fairly helpful" and "very helpful" are correct, but they have different meanings. "Fairly helpful" indicates a moderate level of assistance, while "very helpful" suggests a high level of assistance.

What can I say instead of "fairly helpful"?

You can use alternatives like "somewhat useful", "moderately beneficial", or "reasonably advantageous" depending on the context.