VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

well-being

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˌwel ˈbiːɪŋ/
US/ˌwel ˈbiːɪŋ/

Meaning

  1. noununcountable

    The overall condition of a person or group in which they feel healthy, secure, and reasonably happy in body and mind.

    Grammar: No plural and no article needed: employee well-being, not an employee well-being.

    Patterns

    • the well-being of someone
    • concern for someone's well-being
    • promote well-being

    The school runs a program to support students' emotional well-being.

    Regular walks do wonders for my sense of well-being.

    The charity is worried about the well-being of elderly residents living alone.

Common combinations

emotional well-being
Therapy helped restore her emotional well-being after the move.
physical and mental well-being
Sleep is vital to both physical and mental well-being.
promote well-being
The company offers yoga classes to promote well-being at work.
sense of well-being
A warm bath gave him a deep sense of well-being.
concern for someone's well-being
Her concern for her brother's well-being kept her awake.

Synonyms and how they differ

welfare
Welfare often stresses the basic care and support provided to people, especially by an organization or the state, while well-being is more about how a person actually feels.
health
Health is narrower and usually points to the body, whereas well-being also covers mood, security, and satisfaction.
happiness
Happiness describes a feeling that can come and go, while well-being describes a steadier overall condition.
prosperity
Prosperity is about material success and wealth, so you can have prosperity without much well-being.

Opposites

distressill-being

Word family

well adjective
in good health
wellness noun
the active pursuit of good health habits
well-off adjective
fairly wealthy
unwell adjective
slightly ill

Commonly confused: well-being or wellbeing? well-being or welfare?

well-being vs wellbeing

This is simply a variant spelling without the hyphen; both are accepted, so choose one and stay consistent.

well-being vs welfare

Welfare can mean government support payments in American English, which well-being never means.

Practice

The council is more concerned about the ___ of residents than about saving money.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “well-being”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words