Charles DickensW. S. Vucinich
ˈkän-ˌsəlt
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Confer vs. Consult
Confer and consult are very closely related in meaning, and each has senses that are synonymous with the other’s. But as is so often the case with near-synonyms, there are contexts in which one word is preferable to the other.
If you confer with someone, it is entirely possible that you will be seeking advice, but you could also simply be having a discussion (“they conferred privately before making a decision”). If you are consulting someone or something, it is more likely that you are seeking advice (“he consulted his doctor before deciding on a course of treatment”). Consult is unambiguously the correct choice when one is seeking guidance or information from a non-human source; you would consult (not confer with) a dictionary for information on a word.
The sense of confer that is concerned with giving something (as in, “education confers many benefits”) is not shared by consult.
Synonyms
Verb
Noun
Examples of consult in a Sentence
Miami Herald, 22 Apr. 2024
Among those consulted are current board members Michele L. Watley and Stacy Shaw.
Watley, who was born and raised in Wyandotte County, Kansas, transitioned from a successful career as a union carpenter to civic advocacy.
—The Star’s Leadership Team, Kansas City Star, 21 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for consult 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'consult.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near consult
Cite this Entry
“Consult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consult. Accessed 4 May. 2024.
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consult
transitive verb
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