devil's advocate

Definitions

1. One who debates from a viewpoint which one may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity or simply for the sake of argument.
   idiomatic
2. A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.
   historical

Equivalents

Examples

“I don't really believe⟳ all that – I was just playing devil's advocate.”

“Now, play⟳ devil's advocate. Can't you live⟳ 20 years on $145,000 if you're living out of a motor home and just eating and painting and writing books? I mean⟳, this is what we talked about when we were 19. Remember⟳, we kept saying, "Let's find⟳ ourselves," but we didn't have⟳ a dollar! So, we watched television instead.”

CEFR level