Word.ws English Dictionary

counsels

counsels is the plural of counsel.

counsels is the third-person singular simple present indicative of counsel.

Meaning of counsel

Noun

counsel (countable and uncountable, plural counsels or counsel)

  1. The exchange of opinions and advice especially in legal issues; consultation.
    • Bleſſed is that man that hath not walked in the counſaile of the vngodly: nor ſtand in the waye of ſynners, and hath not ſit in the ſeate of ſkornefull.1549 March 7, Thomas Cranmer [et al.], compilers, “The Introites, Collectes, Epistles, and Gospels to be Used at the Celebracion of the Lordes Supper & Holy Communion, throughe the Yeare: With Proper...
  2. Exercise of judgment; prudence.
    • They all confess, therefore, in the working of that first cause, that counsel is used.[1594], Richard Hooker, edited by J[ohn] S[penser], Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, […], London: […] Iohn Windet, […], →OCLC, (please specify the page)
  3. Advice; guidance.
    • I like thy counsel; well hast thou advised.c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  4. Deliberate purpose; design; intent; scheme; plan.
    • The counsel of the Lord standeth forever.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 33:11
  5. A lawyer, as in King's Counsel (KC) or Queen's Counsel (QC).

See all 7 meanings of counsel

Phrases with counsels

Questions about counsels

What is counsels the plural of?
Counsels is the plural of counsel.

Words near counsels in the dictionary

  1. counselors
  2. counselorship
  3. counselorships
  4. counselour
  5. counselours
  6. counsels
  7. counsels of perfection
  8. count
  9. count 'em
  10. count against
  11. count agent

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: counsels (page history and authors); counsel (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-councils.ogg.

Cite this entry: “counsels.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/counsels. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.