well-being

6 synonyms and 3 antonyms for well-being, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Noun — The state of being comfortable, healthy and content in body and mind.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

welfare health

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

wellness

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

contentment quality of life life satisfaction

Synonyms by Meaning

1. noun

The state of being comfortable, healthy and content in body and mind.

“Regular exercise improves both physical and mental well-being.”

welfare health wellness contentment quality of life

Opposites

ill health distress suffering

2. noun

In economics and policy, a broad measure of how good people's lives are, taking in income, health, security and satisfaction rather than output alone.

“The country now publishes national well-being statistics alongside GDP.”

welfare life satisfaction

How to use well-being

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

mental well-being physical well-being sense of well-being health and well-being

Neutral; heavily used in health, HR and policy writing.

Frequently asked questions

Is it well-being, wellbeing or well being?

All three appear in print. Well-being with a hyphen is the safest choice and dominates American style guides; wellbeing as one word is now very common in British and Australian writing. Two separate words is generally treated as an error.

What is the difference between well-being and wellness?

Well-being describes the state of being well — how good your life actually is. Wellness usually refers to the active pursuit of health through diet, exercise and self-care, and carries commercial associations with the wellness industry. Well-being is broader and includes things you do not control, such as income and relationships.

What are the main types of well-being?

Most frameworks divide it into physical, mental or emotional, social, and financial well-being, with some adding a sense of purpose. They are treated separately because a person can be thriving in one and struggling in another.

People also searched

health suffering welfare distress wellness contentment

Nearby words

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