consul
Americannoun
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consuls
plural
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an official appointed by the government of one country to look after its commercial interests and the welfare of its citizens in another country.
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either of the two chief magistrates of the ancient Roman republic.
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French History. one of the three supreme magistrates of the First Republic during the period 1799–1804.
noun
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an official appointed by a sovereign state to protect its commercial interests and aid its citizens in a foreign city
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(in ancient Rome) either of two annually elected magistrates who jointly exercised the highest authority in the republic
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(in France from 1799 to 1804) any of the three chief magistrates of the First Republic
Commonly Confused
See council.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing consul
Before We Were Free
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The Roman Republic, Lessons 1–2
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Chapter 11: Rome: Republic to Empire
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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
The World Cup was the lightning rod, said Carlos González Gutiérrez, the Mexican consul general in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
The museum contacted Ankara because the piece "had been donated by the wife of a US consul general who served in Istanbul in the 1940s", she said.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
As the UK's consul general between 2016 and 2017 Dame Antonia's job involved promoting UK trade and business in New York, in the immediate aftermath of the referendum to take Britain out of the EU.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026
The consul at the U.S. embassy had explained that the U.S. government allowed refugees to come to America if they were in danger in their own country.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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
In some cases, government officials acknowledged not knowing how many consuls they had appointed or whether any had been convicted of crimes.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2022
By 133 BCE, the Senate proposed legislation and could veto the legislation of the consuls.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2020
Despite the emergency, two foreign consuls were playing tennis on the grass courts out back.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
