advocate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
someone who publicly supports a particular idea or way of doing things.
a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy.
Simple“She has been a strong advocate for women's rights throughout her career.”
In context“As a leading advocate of renewable energy, the professor was invited to speak at the international climate summit.”
- 02 C1 Advanced
a lawyer who speaks for someone in a court of law.
a person who puts forward a case in a court of law; a legal representative or counsel.
Simple“The defendant's advocate argued that there was not enough evidence for a conviction.”
In context“The judge requested that the advocate provide further clarification regarding the precedent cited in the opening statement.”
Teacher's tipIn many English-speaking legal systems, 'lawyer' or 'attorney' is more common, but 'advocate' is the specific title in Scotland and South Africa.
Usage advocate approach
“For women who experience such losses, the medical crisis can be compounded by social expectations.“Motherhood is one-sided,” women’s rights advocate Tabou Sarr says.”
“That's the bit that people like Annabelle benefit from and that advocates say the NDIS was designed for: to enable disabled people to be an integral part of the economy and Australian society.”
From Middle English advocat, advoket, from Old French advocat, from Latin advocātus (“an advocate”), from the substantivization of the perfect passive participle of advocāre (“to call for”) (see -ate (noun-forming suffix)), from a calque of Ancient Greek παράκλητος (paráklētos) (whence English paraclete). Doublet of advoke, avocat, avouch, and avow. The verb derives from the noun on the basis of -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.