consul

American  

[kon-suhl] / ˈkɒn səl /

noun

• consuls
  plural

1. an official appointed by the government of one country to look after its commercial interests and the welfare of its citizens in another country.

2. either of the two chief magistrates of the ancient Roman republic.

3. French History. one of the three supreme magistrates of the First Republic during the period 1799–1804.

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consul British  

/ ˈkɒnsəl /

noun

1. an official appointed by a sovereign state to protect its commercial interests and aid its citizens in a foreign city

2. (in ancient Rome) either of two annually elected magistrates who jointly exercised the highest authority in the republic

3. (in France from 1799 to 1804) any of the three chief magistrates of the First Republic

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Commonly Confused

See council.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• consulship
  noun
• subconsul
  noun
• subconsulship
  noun
• consular
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• consuls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of consul

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin; a derivative of consulere “to take counsel, consult”; see origin at consult

Explanation

A consul is a diplomat appointed to live in a foreign country, to protect both her country's interests and citizens living abroad. If you're an American living in Poland, take your troubles to the American consul. In ancient Rome, there were two consuls elected every year to be in charge of the whole city. Like many words, this one developed new meanings and spellings. One of those is council, like your city council, who make up part of city government. The other is consul in the modern sense: the person from one country who is appointed to represent his country to a foreign government.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

consul consuls

In her statement condemning Simon's death, Okey-Uche, Nigeria's consul general in Johannesburg, called for a "transparent" investigation and alleged that there was "an alarming pattern of unresolved extrajudicial killings/deaths and unacceptable misconduct against foreign nationals".

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

French consul general in New York, Cedrik Fouriscot, told AFP the elaborate performance demonstrated the "importance of alliances."

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

Romania said it was closing the Russian consulate in the Black Sea city of Constanta and expelling the consul general, prompting Moscow to threaten a similar response.

From Barron's ● May 29, 2026

The consul general had been responding to a Times editorial supporting a boycott of products made with cotton produced in the Xinjiang region of China.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

There were all kinds of things going on beneath it, and she saw that the witch consul was coming to a decision.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman

After 367 BCE, one of the two consuls, the highest officials in the republic, had to be a plebian.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

Thursday’s summit was attended by consuls and other senior officials from G-7 nations and the European Union, and lawmakers and representatives from economic organizations, labor unions and other organizations.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

Thirty honorary consuls have been sanctioned by the United States and other governments; nine have been linked to terrorist groups by law enforcement and governments.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2022

But the vast majority of governments have failed to strengthen oversight or press to reform the international law that protects thousands of honorary consuls worldwide, a new review found.

From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2022

Despite the emergency, two foreign consuls were playing tennis on the grass courts out back.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

Related Words

• envoy