Dictionary

devil's advocate en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Calque of Latin advocātus diabolī (“the devil’s advocate”), a popular title given to the officer dealing with the canonization process in the 16th c.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) One who debates from a viewpoint which one may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity or simply for the sake of argument.
   • Now, play devil's advocate. Can't you live 20 years on $145,000 if you're living out of a motor home and just eating and painting and writing books? I mean, this is what we talked about when we were 19. Remember, we kept saying, "Let's find ourselves," but we didn't have a dollar! So, we watched television instead. 1985, Albert Brooks, Lost in America (motion picture), spoken by David Howard (Albert Brooks):
   • I don't really believe all that – I was just playing devil's advocate.
2. (historical) A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.

Forms

Translations (48)

hu az ördög ügyvédje (debater) · ru адвока́т дья́вола (canon lawyer) · fi paholaisen asianajaja (debater) · ko 악마의 변호인 (debater) · de Advocatus Diaboli (canon lawyer) · ro avocatul diavolului (debater) · de Advocatus Diaboli (debater) · de des Teufels Advokat (debater) · pl promotor wiary (canon lawyer) · el συνήγορος του διαβόλου (canon lawyer) · el συνήγορος του διαβόλου (debater) · ru адвока́т дья́вола (debater) · cs ďáblův advokát (canon lawyer) · nl advocaat van de duivel (debater) · ca advocat del diable (debater) · lt velnio advokatas (canon lawyer) · da djævelens advokat (canon lawyer) · fi paholaisen asianajaja (canon lawyer) · cs ďáblův advokát (debater) · ar مُحَامِي الشَّيْطَان (debater) · da djævelens advokat (debater) · tl sugo ng diyablo (debater) · ja 列聖調査審問検事 (canon lawyer) · no djevelens advokat (canon lawyer) · la advocatus diaboli (canon lawyer) · cmn 魔鬼的訟辯人 /魔鬼的讼辩人 (debater) · pl adwokat diabła (debater) · pl adwokat diabła (canon lawyer) · ca advocat del diable (canon lawyer) · pt advogado do diabo (debater) · es abogado del diablo (debater) · fr avocat du diable (debater) · he פרקליט השטן (canon lawyer) · uk адвока́т дия́вола (debater) · de des Teufels Advokat (canon lawyer) · tl sugo ng diyablo (canon lawyer) · ja 悪魔の代弁者 (debater) · es abogado del diablo (canon lawyer) · it avvocato del diavolo (debater) · no djevelens advokat (debater) · ro avocatul diavolului (canon lawyer) · cmn 惡魔的代言人 /恶魔的代言人 (debater) · sv djävulens advokat (debater) · pt advogado do diabo (canon lawyer) · lt velnio advokatas (debater) · it avvocato del diavolo (canon lawyer) · el δικηγόρος του διαβόλου (debater) · cmn 列聖審查官 /列圣审查官 (canon lawyer)

devil's advocate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Calque of Latin advocātus diabolī (“the devil’s advocate”), a popular title given to the officer dealing with the canonization process in the 16th c.

Meanings

1. (informal, intransitive) To play devil's advocate.
   • Disclaimer: people shouldn't take things I say too personally, I'm often a bit blunt and like to devil's advocate and debate things (another part of this is that I've typically not bothered to post on things that are correct, but to correct things when they're wrong... if you take everything I don't respond to as an affirmation, I'm extremely nice:) 2006 September 27, bwross, “Crawl-SS: Weapon & armor changes”, in rec.games.roguelike.misc (Usenet):
   • I don't want to get bogged down devil's-advocating for a position I don't personally hold (I think a government worker should not be allowed to bring religious beliefs into the job, just to be clear), but her position is a little different than the absolute you're making it into. 2008 May 20, Carl, “Woman: 'I can't go against what it says in the Bible'”, in alt.atheism (Usenet):

Forms