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devil's advocate

One who debates from a view which they may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity, or simply for the sake of argument.

Etymology:

  • From devil's advocate, a calque of Latin advocātus diabolī.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'devil's advocate':

devil's advocateA canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.
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Translation

Find a translation for the devil's advocate phrase in other languages:

diablo advokato

abogado del diablo

l'avocat du diable

魔鬼代言人

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to devil's advocate

idle hands are the devil's playthingsidle hands are the devil's toolsfolk devildevil take the hindmostspeak of the devil and he appearsbetter the devil you know than the one …devil's shouldersidle hands are the Devil's workshopbetter the devil you know than the devi…better the devil you knowangel's advocateidle hands are a devil's toolscaught between the devil and the deep b…better the devil you know than the one …

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