adviser

noun

ad·​vis·​er əd-ˈvī-zər How to pronounce adviser (audio)
variants or advisor
: someone who gives advice
a financial/investment adviser
She was not signing on as a domestic or foreign-policy adviserPeggy Noonan
In this meeting, Clifford, who had been a senior Truman aide and an adviser to Kennedy, used George Ball's memorandums in pleading that the war could not be won.Sidney Blumenthal
In December, she and her thesis advisor, Neal Evans, used the camera, attached to a 50-inch telescope, to look for infant stars in a giant molecular cloud in the constellation Orion.Andrew Chaikin
In a real sense, the emperor's astronomical ministers functioned like advisors in a modern president's cabinet, advising him on how best to conduct the affairs of state in a harmonious and effective manner.Laurence A. Marschall

Did you know?

What's the difference between adviser and advisor?

Adviser or advisor? It doesn't matter what your computer's spellcheck tells you, adviser and advisor are both correct. Although there is enough overlap between these two words that they are generally considered simply to be different ways to spell the same word, there are some cases in which one tends to be used more often than the other. Some people feel that advisor is more formal, and it tends to be found more often when applied to official positions, such as an advisor to a president. When referring to someone who is serving in a military role, especially when using the term as a euphemism (as when claiming that troops are actually military advisers), then adviser is somewhat more common.

Examples of adviser in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Paul Manafort, a top adviser to Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign who was pardoned by the former president at the end of his White House term, is in discussions to return to help with the Republican National Convention, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Jonathan Swan, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 White House official confirms death of Hamas' No. 3 leader White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed Monday that Marwan Issa, deputy commander of Hamas' military wing and one of the architects of the Oct. 7 attacks, was killed by Israel. John Bacon, USA TODAY, 18 Mar. 2024 Last week, Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, followed up on the president’s use of the term by saying there is no red line. Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Mar. 2024 Ben Harris is vice president and director of the Economic Studies Program at the Brookings Institution and was a longtime economic adviser to President Joe Biden. Ben Harris, The Mercury News, 16 Mar. 2024 Arrington, the chairman of the powerful Budget Committee and a former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, is a charismatic figure whose name had surfaced on lists of potential Speakers. David D. Kirkpatrick, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024 There have been safety concerns with the treatment, Reuters writes, but advisers believed the benefits outweigh the risks. Meghana Keshavan, STAT, 15 Mar. 2024 Scammers may instruct you to lie to someone, such as a spouse, financial adviser or even your bank. Alain Sherter, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024 The lawsuit was filed by the conservative group America First Legal — founded by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller — on behalf of an unnamed Fairfax high school senior. Karina Elwood, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'adviser.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1536, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of adviser was circa 1536

Dictionary Entries Near adviser

Cite this Entry

“Adviser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adviser. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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