adviser

noun

ad·​vis·​er əd-ˈvī-zər 

variants or advisor

: someone who gives advice

a financial/investment adviser

She was not signing on as a domestic or foreign-policy adviser …

—Peggy 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.

Synonyms of adviser

• consultant

Examples of adviser in a Sentence

our financial adviser had some words of caution about buying a second home

Recent Examples on the Web

Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former state attorney general, and Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host and adviser to conservative British politicians, are competing to replace Newsom. — CBS News, 30 June 2026

In 2023, Iger joined a consortium of investors—including billionaires Mukesh Ambani, Henry Kravis, Xavier Niel and Jorge Paulo Lemann—to acquire a 3% stake in Thrive Capital and the former Disney CEO serves as an adviser to the firm. — Siladitya Ray, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026

Former Braves manager Brian Snitker, now an organizational adviser, has also stopped by recently. — Gabriel Burns, AJC.com, 29 June 2026

Yet Burnham, on course to become the new prime minister in the next three weeks, may be more receptive — one of his key advisers, former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane, has previously supported the idea. — Philip Aldrick, Fortune, 28 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

advise + -er entry 2, -or entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1536, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for adviser

• advisor
• devisor
• divisor
• franchisor
• incisor
• quantizer
• reviser
• revisor
• advertiser
• analyser
• analyzer
• appetizer