MEANING
1. To give advice or guidance about a course of action.
2. A lawyer or lawyers serving as legal representatives or advisers.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- counsel caution
- counsel someone to wait
On the page
She counseled caution before publishing the claim.
He counseled them to wait for the complete record.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- counsel
- Past tense
- counseled or counselled
- Past participle
- counseled or counselled
- Present participle
- counseling or counselling
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- counsel
- Present continuous
- am/is/are counseling or counselling
- Present perfect
- have/has counseled or counselled
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been counseling or counselling
- Past
- counseled or counselled
- Past continuous
- was/were counseling or counselling
- Past perfect
- had counseled or counselled
- Past perfect continuous
- had been counseling or counselling
- Future
- will counsel
- Future continuous
- will be counseling or counselling
- Future perfect
- will have counseled or counselled
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been counseling or counselling
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary. Forms: counsel; counsels; counseled or counselled; counseled or counselled; counseling or counselling Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Third-person singular: counsels.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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