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devil's advocate

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

Etymology:

  • From devil's advocate, a calque of Latin advocātus diabolī.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'devil's advocate':

devil's advocateOne who debates from a view which they may not actually hold, usually to determine its validity, or simply for the sake of argument.
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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to devil's advocate

devil's shouldersdevil's shouldersbetter the devil you know than the one …Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Seaspeak of the devilidle hands are a devil's toolsfolk devilbetter the devil you know than the devi…idle hands are the devil's toolsangel's advocateidle hands are the Devil's workshopidle hands are the Devil's toolsdevil take the hindmostbetter the devil you know than the one …

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