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

Morgan Stanley and Centerview Partners were lead advisers for Equity Residential, with additional work from BofA Securities. —Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2026

Riyadh ordered government entities to freeze payments to strategy advisers, management consultants, and law firms, which were central to the kingdom’s efforts to reinvent its economy and become a global business and entertainment hub, Semafor reported. —Semafor Events, semafor.com, 22 May 2026

An adviser to Becerra’s campaign, Michael Bustamante, said in April that Becerra would likely support an increase in the state’s production incentive, but would be wary of making the program unlimited, which could easily run into the billions of dollars. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 22 May 2026

For now, Harris is mostly basking in the warm glow of supporters at events and fielding petitions from candidates seeking her support and circling up with the small team of advisers she’s kept with her as a civilian. —Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 21 May 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