agony aunt
noun · Collocation / phrase C1
Plain meaning
a person who gives advice about personal problems in a newspaper or website
Exam-register meaning
In academic or exam writing, this is used to discuss a person who gives advice about personal problems in a newspaper or website in a more precise way.
In context
naturalThe article discussed agony aunt as a key issue.
examThe passage argues that agony aunt can affect policy decisions and public behaviour.
Common collocations
agony aunt columnwrite to an agony auntonline agony aunt
Watch out
Do not use a weak verb before this word. Learn the whole word partnership, e.g., “agony aunt column”.