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 Such a decision would be made locally and might require full approval of the vaccines from the Food and Drug Administration, Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House's Covid response team, told CNN's Chris Cuomo. — Joshua Berlinger, CNN, "The latest on Covid-19 and India's worsening crisis," 5 May 2021 Detroit Pistons senior adviser Arn Tellem and his wife, Nancy, donated $139,000 to the school last summer to purchase laptops for the students. — Omari Sankofa Ii, Detroit Free Press, "Jalen Rose to host vaccination event at school, encouraging Detroiters to get COVID shot," 5 May 2021 Alice Chen, a senior adviser for the vaccine equity advocacy organization Made to Save, credited the wave of efforts trying to win over holdouts, saying the cumulative effects laid the ground for breakthroughs. — Dan Diamond, Anchorage Daily News, "Meet the coronavirus vaccine skeptics who changed their minds," 4 May 2021 A few days later, Biden’s senior adviser Antia Dunn was seeming to up the ante again, telling CNN that facts would dictate strategy. — Philip Elliott, Time, "Clash Coming: Joe Biden and Mitch McConnell Are Preparing for a Spending Standoff," 4 May 2021 Alice Chen, a senior adviser for the vaccine equity advocacy organization Made to Save, credited the wave of efforts trying to win over holdouts, saying the cumulative effects laid the ground for breakthroughs. — BostonGlobe.com, "The coronavirus vaccine skeptics who changed their minds," 4 May 2021 The executive-editor position at the Los Angeles Times had been vacant since mid-December when Norman Pearlstine, 78 years old, stepped down from the role and was named senior adviser. — Benjamin Mullin, WSJ, "Los Angeles Times Picks ESPN’s Kevin Merida as Next Top Editor," 3 May 2021 Terry Prince, a 31-year Navy veteran and former senior adviser to the U.S. surgeon general, has issued a six-point plan for improving readiness at the state’s veterans’ homes in Anna, Manteno, Quincy and LaSalle. — From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, "Virus-sniffing dog, Vegas boom, vaccine hecklers: News from around our 50 states," 3 May 2021 The senior adviser did not provide any further details to clarify the comment. — Lawrence Richard, Washington Examiner, "North Korea warns US of ‘very grave situation’ in response to Biden speech," 2 May 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'adviser.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.