devil's advocate

American  

[dev-uhlz ad-vuh-kit] / ˈdɛv əlz ˈæd və kɪt /

noun

1. a person who advocates an opposing or unpopular cause for the sake of argument or to expose it to a thorough examination.

2. Also called Promoter of the Faith.  Roman Catholic Church. an official appointed to present arguments against a proposed beatification or canonization of a beatus.

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devil's advocate British  

noun

1. a person who advocates an opposing or unpopular view, often for the sake of argument

2. Technical name: promotor fidei.  RC Church the official appointed to put the case against the beatification or canonization of a candidate

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devil's advocate Idioms  

1. One who argues against a cause or position either for the sake of argument or to help determine its validity. For example, My role in the campaign is to play devil's advocate to each new policy before it's introduced to the public. This term comes from the Roman Catholic Church, where advocatus diaboli (Latin for “devil's advocate”) signifies an official who is appointed to present arguments against a proposed canonization or beatification. It was transferred to wider use in the mid-1700s.

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Etymology

Origin of devil's advocate

First recorded in 1750–60; translation of New Latin advocātus diabolī; see advocate ( def. ), diabolic ( def. )

Example Sentences

But to stake out an admittedly outrageous devil’s-advocate position, at least it would have been honest.

From Salon • Oct. 12, 2025

“On the devil’s-advocate side, what you don’t see in those videos is when they have these kinds of meetings and then they go up and nothing happens,” he said.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 13, 2018

In a later phone conversation, Kelly confronted Stewart, arguing that he had taken devil’s-advocate questions out of context to make them seem like her positions.

From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2015

And perhaps it might have been more interesting if it had daringly included some heresy, some devil's-advocate, anti-Bond argument.

From The Guardian • Oct. 4, 2012

Having a veteran leader onboard can offer multiple benefits to a younger chief executive as far as time management, personal support and the devil's-advocate position that so many of us sometimes need.

From Washington Post • Jun. 13, 2010