council or counsel? These two words, which are pronounced the same, are sometimes confused. A council is an administrative, advisory, or executive body of people: She stood for election to the local council; council workers. A member of a council is a councillor. Counsel is a formal word for advice (He always gave wise counsel), and also means a lawyer or group of lawyers (the counsel for the prosecution). Counsel is also used as a verb meaning to give help with psychological, social, or personal problems, and a person who gives such help is a counsellor: Friends of the murdered teenager are receiving help from counsellors