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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 luckbetter the devil you know than the devi…idle hands are the Devil's workshopbetter the devil you know than the one …devil lies in the detailsbetter the devil you know than the devi…angel's advocatedevil's shouldersdevil beating his wifeidle hands are the Devil's playthingsa devil-may-care attitudespeak of the devilgive the devil his dueBetween the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

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