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 Novelist Ariel Dorfman, a cultural adviser to the Allende government, linked the influential oligarchic interests in Chile that welcomed the collapse of the country’s democracy half a century ago to the current lack of consensus around the rights or wrongs of the coup. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 12 Sep. 2023 Cities in the Portland region are skeptical about the proposal, said Anneliese Koehler, state and regional affairs adviser for Metro. Julia Shumway, oregonlive, 12 Sep. 2023 Gold IRAs allow for asset diversification Any financial adviser will tell their clients that diversifying their assets is always the top priority. Laxmi Corp, The Salt Lake Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023 Before traveling to Hanoi, advisers said that Mr. Biden had met with more than 30 world leaders, mostly in informal meet-and-greets, at the G20 summit in India. Katie Rogers, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2023 Jon Finer, the White House principal deputy national security adviser, said the administration pushed for Zelenskyy’s inclusion at the summit. Aamer Madhani and Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 9 Sep. 2023 At a briefing on the AI company compact, White House special adviser for AI Ben Buchanan said keeping society safe from AI harms will require legislation. Khari Johnson, WIRED, 9 Sep. 2023 Others recommended for charges included former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump 2024 campaign senior adviser Boris Epshteyn and attorneys Cleta Mitchell and Lin Wood. Olivia Rubin, ABC News, 8 Sep. 2023 Access is tightly controlled and generally restricted to the president's national security and military advisers. CBS News, 8 Sep. 2023 See More

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 27 Sep. 2023.

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