Confusing Words: Adviser (noun) and Advisor (noun)
Meaning:
Adviser (a person who gives advice in a particular field.)
Advisor (a person who gives advice in a particular field.)
Adviser vs Advisor Clarification: There is no significant difference between adviser and advisor. Both words are correct and you can choose any of these words for your writing.
Adviser vs Advisor – What is the Difference, Definition & Meaning?
English language has many complications in it. English writers seem to be bewildered in choosing the correct words. Sometimes, they get puzzled between homophones while sometimes between those words which have same meanings but slightly different spellings.
If you go into the history or origin of these two words, you will come to know that adviser was the first word that came in 1610s.
According to Dictionary.com, adviser is an agent noun, from the verb ‘advise’ and it was first used for ‘a military person sent to help a government or army in a foreign country’. Advisor, on the other hand, is said to be a Latin origin.
Later on, both of these words are in the usage for English writers. They can be interchangeable as both of the words describe the same meaning.
Though adviser and advisor depict the same meaning, but you should keep in mind not to use both of these words in the same document or paper. Choose one of these words for your writing.
Definition and Examples of Adviser/Advisor
As I mentioned above that adviser and advisor are both acceptable words and are used as a noun form of the verb ‘advise’. It is defined as a person who gives advice or guidance or helps someone.
It can be an official advice for example, ‘the military adviser to the president’ (Oxford Living Dictionaries). In dictionaries, you will see that adviser is listed above than advisor. It means that adviser is the older term than advisor.
1. Listen to me carefully, as I am your only adviser left.
2. If we are acting that foolishly, clearly we should be hanging our money over to professional financial advisers. Reference –(Grammarly.com)
3. You can apply for this job as military advisor.
4. The official U.S. Government document that defines and regulates the provision of Investment Advice is titled the ‘Investment Advisers Act of 1940’, says BenefitsPRO.
You see that how adviser and advisor are used in sentences. So, the choice is yours which one is to pick for your writing.
Important Point
I want to tell you one important point about the preference of these two words among particular regions. Some people follow British English while some follow American English.
‘Adviser’ seems to be dominant in British English whereas, ‘advisor’ is more commonly used in American English. Grammarist says that in the U.S. and Canada, advisor is commonly used in official job titles.
What Did You Learn?
There is no significant difference between adviser and advisor. Both words are correct and you can choose any of these words for your writing. Just remember one thing that most of the people prefer adviser instead of advisor because adviser came first or you can say that it is the original word.
Both spellings are acceptable and both defined as a person who gives advice or who advises.