guidance
- 1Advice or counseling given to someone on a particular topic or problem.
Students seeking guidance on career choices can book an appointment with an advisor.
He offered gentle guidance to the new employees during their first difficult week.
Similaradvice, counsel, counseling, help
Note
Here guidance is something received rather than performed: counsel that arrives from a source the listener trusts or defers to, as in divine guidance or authoritative guidance. The adjectives that cling to it tend to name where the advice comes from and why it carries weight. Unlike the act of leading, it readily takes on to name its subject: guidance on careers, on conduct, on a difficult decision.
- 2The act or process of directing or leading someone or something along a course.
The pilot relied on radio guidance to land safely in the thick fog.
Under the careful guidance of their mentor, the apprentices mastered the craft.
Similardirection, supervision, leadership, navigation
Note
A hybrid that won out: guide plus the suffix -ance, which displaced the native Old English lādtēowdōm. The act of leading shows most clearly in the frame under the guidance of someone, where the guide accompanies the work rather than simply handing over instructions. The noun can be counted or not, though the uncounted use, guidance in general rather than a guidance, is the one learners will meet in phrases like this.
- 3A process or system used to control the path of a vehicle, missile, or similar moving object.
The missile's guidance corrected its course mid-flight to strike the target.
Modern aircraft rely on satellite guidance to stay on their planned route.
Similarnavigation, steering
Practice
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Origin
This word was formed from "guide" plus the suffix "-ance." It displaced the native Old English word "lādtēowdōm."