Advises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Offers suggestions or guidance about what someone should do
2. Provides opinions or counsel to help someone decide or act
3. Communicates recommendations or tips for decision-making or behavior

Etymology: "Advises" is the third-person singular present of "advise", and the verb's core sense of recommending a course of action sits a little away from its original meaning. Middle English "avisen" meant "to perceive, consider, inform," and the notion of looking at something carefully is still visible in its ancestry. The verb came into English from Old French "aviser," which itself grew out of "avis," meaning "opinion" or "view," so the earliest sense was closer to forming a judgment than to telling someone what to do. The Latin source is "advisare," built from "ad," "to," and "visare," a frequentative of "videre," "to see." That gives a sense of looking toward something, and the image of sight runs through the word's history. The English word may also trace back to Late Latin "advisare" directly, so the Old French and Latin routes are both possible.

Synonyms: counsels, recommends, guides, instructs, enlightens

Antonyms: misleads, confuses, dissuades, discourages, ignores