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devil's advocate

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
devĀ·il's advocate (dvlz)
n.
1. One who argues against a cause or position, not as a committed opponent but simply for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position.
2. Roman Catholic Church An official appointed to present arguments against a proposed canonization or beatification.

[Translation of Medieval Latin advoctus diabol, one arguing for the devil's plea against canonizing a saint : Latin advoctus, advocate + Late Latin diabol, genitive of diabolus, devil.]

devil's advocate
n
1. a person who advocates an opposing or unpopular view, often for the sake of argument
2. (Christianity / Roman Catholic Church) RC Church the official appointed to put the case against the beatification or canonization of a candidate Technical name promotor fidei [prəʊˈməʊtɔː fɪˈdeɪiː]
[translation of New Latin advocātus diabolī]
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.devil's advocate - someone who takes the worse side just for the sake of argument
arguer, debater - someone who engages in debate
Translations
devil's advocate [ˈdɛvlzˈædvəˌkɪt] n to play (the) devil's advocatefare l'avvocato del diavolo
devil's advocate [ˈdɛvlzˈædvəˌkɪt] n to play (the) devil's advocatefare l'avvocato del diavolo


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Playing devil's advocate to my children's and grandchildren's likely reaction to the articles forced me to re-examine my own seventy-something attitudes and convictions and wonder: Where did either the church or I personally go wrong?
Harrelson mentioned some of these emotional portrayals when he presented the award to salute Theron's artistic independence in ``Monster,'' ``The Devil's Advocate,'' ``North Country'' and other films.
The Ten Faces of Innovation: IDEO's Strategies for Defeating the Devil's Advocate and Driving Creativity Throughout Your Organization, by Thomas Kelley and Jonathan Littman (Currency, 2005).
 
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