devil’s advocate:
(plural: ‘devil’s advocates‘)
a devil’s advocate (a gentleman counter arguing to get others’ true opinion of a proposal)
a person who takes an opposing or unpopular point of view in an argument, not because he or she believes it but just for the sake of argument;
a person argues against the presentation of an issue not because he/she believes it but because he/she wants to find out about the goodness or badness (validity) of the issue from different angles;
(in Roman Catholic Church) a person appointed to present arguments against some important issues, such as making somebody a saint (beatification), etc.
a devil’s advocate (arguing for the sake of argument)
If everyone of us acts as one’s own devil’s advocate, I’m sure more and more tragic events can be avoided!
Mr. Mason, our assistant manager, is our office devil’s advocate because he makes it his responsibility to point out the adverse effect of any plan or policy we young employees believe is good and eager to implement immediately without considering the proposal from every angle.
When Betty went to her aunt for some advice on whether she should keep or break her ten year old marriage, her aunt, a very wise woman of sixty, played the devil’s advocate, asking Betty all the problems she might face after breaking up — her children, property, relatives, friends, etc., which made Betty take more time to reconsider her decision.
His Holiness the Pope summoned all the devil’s advocates to discuss the most important matter of beatification of Mother Teresa, whether to make her a saint right away or make some more investigations on the genuineness of the miracles credited to her.
About the Author:BC Kumar
BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.
