Devil's Advocate | Video Overview

Transcript

0:00 You’ve probably heard the idiom “devil’s advocate,” but do you know what it actually means? I’m Eva from QuillBot, and let’s look at the meaning of this idiom, how to use it, and some examples.

0:11 The idiom “devil’s advocate” refers to a person who argues against the popular opinion of a group to provoke discussion. This person doesn’t necessarily believe in what they are arguing, but they will argue for the sake of presenting a new or conflicting point of view.

0:26 This term comes from when the Catholic Church would appoint someone to argue against the canonization of a candidate for sainthood. The “advocatus diaboli,” or devil’s advocate, would try to find holes in stories about a candidate’s character and their supposed miracles.

0:43 You use “devil’s advocate” to refer to a person when they’re arguing against popular opinion. You generally only use it to refer to someone at the time they’re arguing, unless they do it so often it’s become part of their personality trait.

0:56 The idiom is most often used with the verb “play.” You can say “play devil’s advocate” or “play the devil’s advocate.”

1:04 A few examples of how to use devil’s advocate are:

1:07 “Jack doesn’t believe that stuff; he’s playing devil’s advocate.” Here, the speaker explains that Jack is arguing for the sake of arguing, not because he actually believes what he’s saying.

1:18 “Marissa is such a devil’s advocate; she’s always arguing with everyone!” In this sentence, the speaker implies that being a devil’s advocate is part of Marissa’s personality.

1:29 “The devil’s advocate in me wants to argue against everything you’re saying.” In this example, the speaker refers to themself as the devil’s advocate, and how they feel like arguing.