advice
- 01 A1 Beginner
an opinion or suggestion someone gives you to help you with a problem.
guidance or recommendations offered with regard to prudent future action. Uncountable in general usage.
Simple“My father gave me some great advice about how to save money.”
In context“The consultant provided invaluable advice on how to restructure the department without losing key personnel during the transition.”
UsageAs an uncountable noun, it never takes a plural 's' and is used with singular verbs.
PitfallHe gave me some good advices. He gave me some good advice.Advice is uncountable. To count it, use 'a piece of advice' or 'some advice'.
Synonyms - 02 C1 Advanced
a formal letter or document that gives you specific information.
a formal notification or communication of facts, often regarding financial transactions or legal interpretations.
Simple“The bank sent a payment advice to confirm the money was sent.”
In context“The solicitor issued a formal advice regarding the potential liabilities the company might face under the new environmental regulations.”
UsageIn this technical sense, the word is often countable and can be used with 'an' or in the plural.
Synonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
a piece of code that runs when a specific part of a program is reached.
in aspect-oriented programming, the code that implements the cross-cutting concern to be applied at a join point.
Simple“The developer wrote an advice to log every time a user logs in.”
In context“The framework allows developers to define 'around advice' to manage transactions across multiple service layers automatically.”
advice vs advise — Advise is the action of giving a suggestion, while advice is the suggestion itself.
advice vs information — Information provides facts or data, while advice provides a recommendation for action.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd Proto-Italic *ad Latin ad Old French a Proto-Indo-European *weyd-der. Proto-Italic *widēō Latin videō Latin vīsus Old French vis Old French avisbor. Middle English avys English advice From Middle English avys, from Old French avis, rebracketed from the phrase ce m'est a vis (“I think”, “it seems to me”, literally “it is to my view”), where vis is from Latin vīsus (“vision, sight”). The unhistoric -d- was introduced during the 15th century due to influence from advise and ad-, see advance. Doublet of aviso. See vision, and compare avise, advise. Mostly displaced native Old English rǣd (see modern rede).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.