Van Bur ‧ en, Ab ‧ i ‧ gail /væn ˈbjʊ ə rən, ˈæbəɡeɪl/ BrE AmE
(1918–) a US ↑ agony aunt (=someone who gives advice to newspaper readers about their personal problems) who writes a well-known newspaper ↑ column called Dear Abby . Her real name is Pauline Esther Friedman Phillips. Since retiring (↑ retire ) in 2002, her daughter has written the column.