advert

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

Middle English adverten, from Old French advertir (“to notice”), from Latin advertere (“to turn toward”). See also adverse.

Noun

advert (plural adverts)

1. (British, informal) An advertisement, an ad.
   • 2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     This was a wonderful advert for the Premier League, with both Chelsea and United intent on all-out attack - but Ferguson will be concerned at how his side lost their way after imperiously controlling much of the first period.

   • 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 41:

     When I was writing my 'Tube Talk' column, a man sent me a letter complaining about the advertisement of cars on the Underground. Why would the Underground masochistically promote a rival transport mode? The answer, I discovered, was that the adverts on the network must not 'harm the brand', and a car advert per se was not deemed to do that. However, a car advert that said 'Why are you using this horrible Tube when you could be driving one of our lovely cars?' would not be allowed.

   • 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist‎^[2], volume 407, number 8837, page 74:

     In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.

Translations

advertisement — see advertisement

Verb

advert (third-person singular simple present adverts, present participle adverting, simple past and past participle adverted)

1. (intransitive) To take notice, to pay attention (to). [from 15th c.]
   • 2007 September 9, the Vatican (trans.), Pope Benedict XVI (speaker), speaking in German at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Austria:

     At a time when creation seems to be endangered in so many ways through human activity, we should consciously advert to this dimension of Sunday, too.

2. (obsolete, transitive) To turn attention to, to take notice of (something). [15th–19th c.]
3. (intransitive) To call attention, refer (to). [from 18th c.]
   • 1842, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Mystery of Marie Rogêt’:

     ‘I have before suggested that a genuine blackguard is never without a pocket-handkerchief. But it is not to this fact that I now especially advert.’

   • 1860, Wilkie Collins, The Woman In White:

     As soon as Miss Fairlie had left the room he spared us all embarrassment on the subject of the anonymous letter, by adverting to it of his own accord.

Synonyms

• refer

Derived terms

Derived terms

• advertence
• advertency
• advertent

• advertently
• inadvertent
• inadvertently

Translations

To turn attention

• Bulgarian: споменавам (bg) (spomenavam), обръщам внимание (obrǎštam vnimanie)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Dutch: verwijzen (nl), aandacht vestigen op

Anagrams

• varted