Idiom
play devil's advocate
Meanings
To argue against a plan or opinion (often one you agree with) in order to test it and improve the discussion.
Definition
To play devil's advocate means to argue the opposite side to test an idea or decision.
If you play devil's advocate, you deliberately take a contrary position in a discussion. You may not actually believe what you are saying, but you do it to challenge assumptions and find weaknesses. This can help a group think more carefully before making a decision.
Examples
- Let me play devil's advocate: what if the new pricing scares customers away?
- She agreed with the proposal, but she played devil's advocate to make sure we had answers.
- If I play devil's advocate for a moment, are we sure this is the right timeline?
- He often plays devil's advocate during meetings to test our assumptions.
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