EN

Synonyms for auxiliary

  • adjective
  • noun

Most common

assistant accessory adjunct ancillary additional secondary

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Ancillary — helping; giving assistance or support

ancillary, accessory, assistant, adjunct, subordinate, adjuvant, appurtenant, instrumental, tributary, helpful, attendant, subservient, assisting dated

2. Secondary

secondary, additional, subsidiary, supplementary, supplemental

Other

adjutant, supportive

Noun

aid, appendage, helper, coadjutor, motor sailer, aider, appendix, abetting

Antonyms

primary

All antonyms of auxiliary →

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Helping; giving assistance or support.

  2. adj. 2

    Supplementary or subsidiary.

  3. n. 1

    A person or group that acts in an auxiliary manner.

Related words

Word family
auxlang
Phrases
auxiliary verb modal auxiliary auxiliary cell auxiliary language auxiliary storage international auxiliary language

Forms

Plural
auxiliaries → aids, appendages, helpers, coadjutors…

Choose the right word

Auxiliary or Assistant?

An auxiliary is a person or thing that helps in a subordinate capacity. Yet the auxiliary is more than a mere assistant.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • assistant Tom's assistant came in and handed Mary a message.
  • accessory Tom wears glasses purely as a fashion accessory.
  • adjunct Tom is an adjunct professor.
  • ancillary That information is ancillary to our discussion.
  • additional There are additional students to my Spanish class.
  • secondary He got all his information from secondary sources.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
auxiliaryfalling
assistantfalling
accessoryfalling
adjunctsteady
ancillaryfalling
additionalfalling

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
aid1
5 letters
aider
6 letters
helper2
7 letters
helpful2, adjunct2
8 letters
appendix3, adjutant3, abetting3, adjuvant
9 letters
assistant3, secondary4, assisting3, accessory4, attendant3, ancillary4, tributary4, appendage3, coadjutor
10 letters
additional4, supportive3, subsidiary5
11 letters
subordinate4, subservient4, appurtenant
12 letters
instrumental4, supplemental4
13 letters
supplementary5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (helper2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
auxiliaire
Italiano
ausiliare
Español
auxiliar
Català
auxiliar