A solicitor is a noun for a lawyer, in the UK someone who advises clients and prepares legal paperwork rather than arguing in court. Solicitous is an adjective describing someone who is attentive, caring, or eager to help. Remember: a solicitor holds a job title, while being solicitous is a way of behaving.
The core difference
Solicitor names a legal profession; solicitous describes an attentive, caring manner.
- solicitor — a lawyer who advises clients and handles legal paperwork: She hired a solicitor to handle the sale of her house.
- solicitous — showing care, concern or attention: He was solicitous about his elderly neighbour, checking in on her every day.
How to tell them apart
Both words trace back to the same root, "solicit", but they have drifted apart. Solicitor kept the older sense of someone who solicits or handles business on another's behalf, and settled into its modern meaning as a job title for a lawyer. Solicitous kept the emotional sense of being eager or anxious, and now describes people who fuss over or care attentively for others.
A simple check: if the word is naming a person's profession, as in "consult a solicitor", it needs the noun form. If it is describing how someone behaves towards another person, as in "a solicitous host", it needs the adjective ending in -ous.
