Consult
Pronunciation
Noun- enPR: kÅn'sÅlt or kÉ™nsÅlt'
- RP IPA: /ˈkɒnsʌlt/, /kənˈsʌlt/
- US IPA: /ˈkɑnsʌlt/
- enPR: kÉ™nsÅlt', IPA: /kÉ™nˈsÊŒlt/
Alternative forms
- consultation (Only noun form in UK)
Origin
From Middle French consulter, from Latin consultare ("to deliberate, consult"), frequentative of consulere ("to consult, deliberate, consider, reflect upon, ask advice"), from com- ("together") + -sulere, of uncertain origin.
Full definition of consult
Noun
consult
(plural consults)- (obsolete): The act of consulting or deliberating; consultation; also, the result of consultation; determination; decision.The council broke; And all grave consults dissolved in smoke. -John Dryden.
- (obsolete): A council; a meeting for consultation.A consult of coquettes. -Jonathan Swift.
- (obsolete): Agreement; concert.
- (US): A visit, e.g. to a doctor; a consultation.
Usage notes
The noun consult is avoided in British English, favoring consultation instead. In AmE, they are merely synonyms.
Synonyms
Verb
- (intransitive) To seek the opinion or advice of another; to take counsel; to deliberate together; to confer.Let us consult upon to-morrow's business. -William ShakespeareAll the laws of England have been made by the kings of England, consulting with the nobility and commons. - Thomas Hobbes.
- (intransitive) To advise or offer expertise.
- (intransitive) To work as a consultant or contractor rather than as a full-time employee of a firm.
- (transitive) To ask advice of; to seek the opinion of; to apply to for information or instruction; to refer to; as, to consult a physician; to consult a dictionary.Men forgot, or feared, to consult ... ; they were content to consult libraries. - William Whewell.
- (transitive) To have reference to, in judging or acting; to have regard to; to consider; as, to consult one's wishes.We are ... to consult the necessities of life, rather than matters of ornament and delight. -L'Estrange.
- (transitive, obsolete): To deliberate upon; to take for.Many things were there consulted for the future, yet nothing was positively resolved. -Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon.
- (transitive, obsolete): To bring about by counsel or contrivance; to devise; to contrive.Thou hast consulted shame to thy use by cutting off many people. - Bible, Heb. ii. 10.