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Meaning of devil's advocate | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

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.
  2. A canon lawyer appointed by the Church to argue against the canonization of the proposed candidate.

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

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

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