advocate

Pluraladvocates

Formsadvocates, advocating, advocated

1. 1
   nouncountable

   A person who speaks publicly in support of a cause, idea, or another person; a proponent.

   He became a leading advocate for renewable energy after the oil spill.

   The senator was a tireless advocate of public health reform.

   Similarproponent, supporter, champion, backer, promoter

   Oppositeopponent, critic, detractor

   Note

   Here the word moves from defending a person to championing a cause. Two prepositions follow it: an advocate of reform, or a tireless advocate for the needs of a group, as The Guardian puts it in 2011. Letitia Landon's Ethel Churchill (1837) already uses the word for someone who simply argues a point he cares about. That speaker has no client, only conviction.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To actively encourage support for a particular cause, idea, or course of action.

   Environmental groups advocate stricter limits on factory emissions.

   The committee advocated a complete overhaul of the funding system.

   Similarpromote, champion, support, endorse, recommend

   Oppositeoppose

   Note

   The everyday verb of recommending a course of action accepts several kinds of object. It can take a noun (advocated the closure of the line), a gerund (I do not advocate living in them), or even a clause (advocating others commit treason). No preposition is needed here. Adding for turns it into the intransitive campaigning verb.

3. 3
   verbtransitive

   To plead in favor of something, defending it by argument before a court or the public, or to support and recommend it openly.

   The attorney advocated her client's innocence before the jury.

   Several scientists advocate immediate action on coral reef protection.

   Similarsupport, recommend, champion, defend, argue

   Oppositeoppose

   Note

   Here the verb keeps one foot in the courtroom. Robert Sanderson's 1624 assize sermon speaks of advocating "the cause of thy client." Edmund Burke, addressing the House of Commons in 1784, uses it for a proposal argued before the House. It takes a direct object: you advocate a cause, a reform or a position. It also sits naturally in the passive, as in Burke's "that has been advocated."

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A person who supports others in making their voices heard, ideally helping them speak up for themselves.

   Every resident was assigned an advocate to help raise concerns with the care home.

   Trained advocates work alongside families navigating the disability support system.

   Similarrepresentative

5. 5
   nouncountable

   Anyone who argues the case of another person; an intercessor who speaks on someone else's behalf.

   She served as an advocate for tenants facing unfair eviction.

   Without a skilled advocate, the defendant struggled to make his case.

   Similarchampion, spokesperson, representative, defender

   Note

   Here the case need not be legal at all. What matters is that the speaker pleads for someone else, often before a powerful listener. Shakespeare's Richard III shows the shape: "an earnest advocate to plead for him," spoken of a plea made to the king on Clarence's behalf. Intercessor is the closer synonym than counsel. The thread back to the courtroom pleader is the same act of speaking for another.

6. 6
   verbintransitive

   To engage in advocacy; to take active steps supporting a cause or group.

   The organization advocates tirelessly for refugee rights.

   Students advocate for better mental health services on campus.

   Similarcampaign, lobby, fight, press

   Note

   With for, the verb stops naming the thing recommended and names the side taken: advocating for changes in immigration law, or advocating for a universal requirement for face coverings. The transitive verb would say advocate changes. Both are correct. The for construction leans toward sustained campaigning, while the bare object suits a single proposal put forward.

7. 7
   nouncountable

   A legal professional whose job is to plead a client's case in a court of law; a counsel.

   The advocate addressed the bench with a detailed summary of the evidence.

   In Scotland, an advocate argues cases that solicitors cannot present in the higher courts.

   Similarbarrister, counsel, lawyer, attorney

   Note

   The courtroom meaning sits closest to the Latin. Advocātus was someone "called for": the past participle of advocāre turned into a noun, itself modeled on Greek paráklētos, which English also borrowed as paraclete. In Scotland an advocate pleads before the higher courts. The role is roughly the counterpart of the English barrister, while a solicitor prepares the case.

8. 8
   verbtransitive

   In Scots law, to appeal a case from a lower court up to the Court of Session.

   Dissatisfied with the sheriff's decision, the pursuer moved to advocate the cause to the Court of Session.

   The defender advocated the matter, seeking review by the supreme civil court.

   Note

   A term of historical Scottish civil procedure, it echoes the Latin idea of calling a matter elsewhere. A party dissatisfied with a lower court's ruling advocated the cause, removing it by a bill of advocation to the Court of Session, the supreme civil tribunal. The related noun is advocation, not advocacy. That spelling is the quickest way to tell this procedural meaning from the everyday one.

9. 9
   verbtransitive

   In Scots law, for a superior court to call a case before itself for decision.

   The Court of Session may advocate a case in order to determine it directly.

   The higher court advocated the proceedings, removing them from the sheriff's jurisdiction.

   Note

   Here the court itself does the calling, which brings the word close to Latin advocāre, "to call for." In Scots law a higher court, such as the Court of Session, summons a case pending below and decides it directly. The court is the subject, not a party to the case. Compare the appeal upward, where someone asks the higher court to take the case.

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