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Business idiomsnoun phrase / idiom · /ˈdevəlz ˈædvəkət/

devil's advocate

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In simple English

Someone who deliberately takes the opposite position in a discussion—not because they truly disagree, but to challenge assumptions and improve decision-making.

Someone at work said "let me play devil's advocate" and you want to understand what they mean.

At a glanceCEFR B2–C1
Commonness
Versatility
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenSpoken
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDiplomatic
Region

Say it like this

✓Let me play devil's advocate here for a second.
✓I'm going to be devil's advocate—what if this doesn't scale?
✓Just playing devil's advocate, but have we considered the edge cases?
✓Can someone play devil's advocate on this proposal?
✓I'll play devil's advocate: what's our fallback if the API goes down?

Real examples

Standup

"Just playing devil's advocate—are we sure we can finish this before the deadline?"

Slack message

"Playing devil's advocate here: what happens if the vendor raises prices next year?"

GitHub PR

"Devil's advocate: could this approach cause performance issues with larger datasets?"

Jira ticket

"Adding a note as devil's advocate: we should document what happens if the third-party service is unavailable."

Retrospective

"Let me play devil's advocate—did the new process actually save us time, or did it just shift the work?"

Sprint planning

"I'll be devil's advocate: is this feature really a priority, or are we building it because it's interesting?"

Pair programming

"Playing devil's advocate—what if a user enters invalid data here?"

Don't say this

Handle with care. Using this phrase wrong can backfire—if you say "devil's advocate" but then give harsh personal criticism, it sounds manipulative rather than helpful.

✕I want to be devil's advocate, so I think your idea is bad.
✓Let me play devil's advocate—what if users don't adopt this feature?— Devil's advocate means testing ideas, not personally criticizing. Always focus on the idea, not the person.
✕I'm the devil's advocate.
✓I'll play devil's advocate.— Use 'play' devil's advocate—it's a temporary role you take, not who you are.
✕Devil's advocate: you're wrong.
✓Playing devil's advocate: have we considered the risks?— The phrase softens disagreement. Being blunt defeats its purpose.

Other forms

noun phrase

devil's advocate

"We need a devil's advocate in this meeting."

verb phrase

play devil's advocate

"Can I play devil's advocate for a moment?"

gerund phrase

playing devil's advocate

"Just playing devil's advocate here..."

Often used with

play devil's advocateThe most common way to use this idiom—announces you're taking the opposite side.
just playing devil's advocateSoftens the challenge—signals you're not really disagreeing.
let me play devil's advocatePolite way to introduce a challenge or concern.
be devil's advocateLess common than 'play,' but sometimes used.
act as devil's advocateMore formal version, used in structured discussions.

Similar words

push backMore direct—means to challenge or disagree without the diplomatic framing.
challenge assumptionsMore formal and neutral—doesn't signal you're taking a role.
poke holesInformal—means to find weaknesses in an argument or plan.
stress testMore technical—often used for testing systems or ideas under pressure.

Opposites

agreesupportendorserubber-stampgo along with

More words

push backraise a concernedge caseassumptionrisktrade-offblind spot

Questions

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