counselor

especially British, coun·sel·lor

[koun-suh-ler]

noun

1. a person who counsels; adviser.

2. a faculty member who advises students on personal and academic problems, career choices, and the like.

3. an assistant at a children's camp, often a high school or college student, who supervises a group of children or directs a particular activity, as nature study or a sport.

4. a lawyer, especially a trial lawyer; counselor-at-law.

   Synonyms: advocate, counsel, barrister, solicitor, attorney

5. an official of an embassy or legation who ranks below an ambassador or minister.

Other Word Forms

• counselorship noun
• precounsellor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of counselor¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English counseiler, counseillour, from Anglo-French cunseiler, cunseiliour, Old French conseilleor, conseillier; counsel, -eur, -er ², -or ²

Example Sentences

Camp Mystic is set to reopen next year after summer floods killed more than two dozen campers and counselors at the Texas girls camp.

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On that year’s tax return, he and his wife reported earning a combined $161,000 from their salaries as a state employee and a Christian school guidance counselor.

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A nonprofit credit counselor can help you navigate the thicket of options that different creditors might offer on different types of debt.

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I’m looking for a financial planner, marriage counselor and, possibly, a divorce attorney.

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I feel I must either blindly accept what I am being told by my investment counselor, or set myself up in a very low-risk position.

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Related Words

• advocate 
• instructor 
• mentor 
• teacher