Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The act of exchanging opinions and ideas; consultation.
  • noun Advice or guidance, especially as solicited from a knowledgeable person. synonym: advice.
  • noun Private, guarded thoughts or opinions.
  • noun A lawyer or group of lawyers giving legal advice and especially conducting a case in court.
  • intransitive verb To give counsel to; advise.
  • intransitive verb To recommend.
  • intransitive verb To give or take advice.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To give counsel or advice to; advise; admonish; instruct.
  • To advise or recommend; urge the adoption of.
  • To consult; take counsel; deliberate.
  • noun Consultation; deliberation; mutual advising or interchange of opinions.
  • noun Advice; opinion or instruction given, as the result of consultation or request; aid or instruction given in directing the judgment or conduct of another.
  • noun Prudence; due consideration; wise and cautious exercise of judgment; examination of consequences.
  • noun Deliberate purpose; design; intent; scheme; plan.
  • noun A private or secret opinion or purpose; consultation in secret; concealment.
  • noun One who gives counsel, especially in matters of law; a counselor or advocate, or several such, engaged in the direction or the trial of a cause in court: as, the plaintiff's or defendant's counsel.
  • noun Same as council, but properly a different word, the two being confused. See council.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To give advice to; to advice, admonish, or instruct, as a person.
  • transitive verb To advise or recommend, as an act or course.
  • noun Interchange of opinions; mutual advising; consultation.
  • noun Examination of consequences; exercise of deliberate judgment; prudence.
  • noun Result of consultation; advice; instruction.
  • noun Deliberate purpose; design; intent; scheme; plan.
  • noun A secret opinion or purpose; a private matter.
  • noun One who gives advice, especially in legal matters; one professionally engaged in the trial or management of a cause in court; also, collectively, the legal advocates united in the management of a case.
  • noun [Obs.] in secret.
  • noun to keep one's thoughts, purposes, etc., undisclosed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The exchange of opinions and advice; consultation
  • noun Advice or guidance so given
  • noun A lawyer, as in Queen's Counsel (QC)
  • verb To give advice, especially professional advice.
  • verb To recommend

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb give advice to
  • noun a lawyer who pleads cases in court
  • noun something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English counseil, from Old French conseil, from Latin cōnsilium; akin to cōnsulere, to take counsel, consult.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Middle English counseil, from Old French conseil, from Latin cōnsilium; akin to cōnsulō ("take counsel, consult").

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word counsel.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.