There are many ways to help something along. You can make it easier (facilitate) or faster (expedite). You can help it grow, as a gardener helps a plant (foster, nurture, cultivate). You can stand up for it (champion), put your name behind it (endorse), keep it going (sustain) or jolt people into acting for it (galvanize).
Key idea
One word in this family helps the wrong side: to abet is to help or encourage someone in doing wrong, as in the old legal phrase “aid and abet.”
The ten words
Common mistake
abet usually means helping wrongdoing (to aid and abet). galvanize means to jolt into action, not just to coat with zinc.
| how it helps | words |
|---|---|
| makes it easier or faster | facilitate, expedite |
| helps it grow | foster, nurture, cultivate |
| stands behind it | champion, endorse |
| keeps it going | sustain |
| jolts people into action | galvanize |
| helps someone do wrong | abet |
Writers rarely use abet for good deeds. If a character abets someone, expect trouble: the getaway driver abets the robbers.