Helen Keller

noun

A person who has triumphed in the face of adversity.

Meanings

nounHelen Keller (plural Helen Kellers)

plural Helen Kellers

  1. A person who has triumphed in the face of adversity.

    The Helen Kellers of this world give dramatic evidence of the value, the power of the independent will.

    1989, Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Free Press
    2 more examples

    Slightly we realise that in some sense we are all Helen Kellers, and that ours, too, is a Helen Keller world.

    1905, Edgar A. Ashcroft, The World's Desires Or, The Results of Monism, an Elementary Treatise on a Realistic Religion and Philosophy of Human Life, K. Paul, Trench, Trübner

    Not everyone is a Helen Keller or Max Cleland, nor should we require them to be. Depending on their severity and the resources and resiliency of the survivor, simple PTSD injuries can be disabling in the same sense that physical injuries are.

    2010, Jonathan Shay, John McCain, Senator Max Cleland, Odysseus in America: Combat Trauma and the Trials of Homecoming, Scribner

Origin

From the American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer Helen Keller (1880–1968).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Helen Keller. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Helen%20Keller

MLA

“Helen Keller.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Helen%20Keller. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Helen Keller,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Helen%20Keller.

Source: Helen Keller on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.