ENGLISH
REFERENCE

devil's advocate

idiom
Meaning

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


Origin

disputed origin

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.

Examples
SIMPLE

He likes to play devil's advocate during our team meetings.

CONTEXTUAL

She played devil's advocate to help the group find potential flaws in the new project plan.

COMPLEX

Although he personally agreed with the proposal, he played devil's advocate to ensure the committee considered every possible counterargument before making a final decision.

Anchors to
Related idioms2entries
  1. 01

    angel's advocate

    Someone who sees what is good about an idea and supports it.

  2. 02

    devil's luck

    astounding good luck.

© 2026 English Reference