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

Ukraine’s top sanctions adviser is worried the mountain of restrictions piled against Russia’s oil and gas industry since 2022 is close to crumbling under the weight of soaring global oil prices. —Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 19 Mar. 2026

After Tuesday, Iger will stay on with Disney as a special adviser and member of Disney’s board of directors until the end of 2026. —Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026

Iger stepped down in February 2020 but then continued as executive chairman and creative adviser until the end of the following year. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 18 Mar. 2026

Livestream of the massive crowd carrying multiple coffins was broadcast on Iranian state TV, including that of Ali Larijani, who had been a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and emerged as a key wartime figure after the ayatollah's killing. —Npr Staff, NPR, 18 Mar. 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