advocator
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ad·vo·cate
(ăd′və-kāt′)v. ad·vo·cat·ed, ad·vo·cat·ing, ad·vo·cates
v.tr.
To speak, plead, or argue in favor of: advocate a vegan diet. See Synonyms at support.
v.intr.
Usage Problem To act as an advocate: advocated for her patients; advocated for more stringent crime laws.
n. (-kĭt)
1. One that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender: an advocate of civil rights.
2. One that pleads in another's behalf; an intercessor: advocates for abused children and spouses.
3. A lawyer.
[From Middle English advocat, lawyer, from Old French advocat, from Latin advocātus, past participle of advocāre, to summon for counsel : ad-, ad- + vocāre, to call; see wekw- in Indo-European roots.]
ad′vo·ca′tion n.
ad′vo·ca′tive, ad·voc′a·to′ry (ăd-vŏk′ə-tôr′ē, ăd′və-kə-) adj.
ad′vo·ca′tor n.
Usage Note: The standard form of the verb advocate is transitive, meaning "endorse" or "argue for," as in The teacher advocated a new educational technique, which was accepted by 85 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2014 survey. Many readers balk when the verb is used to express the same meaning in an intransitive form with the preposition for: less than half (45 percent) of the Panel approved of The teacher advocated for a new educational technique. The intransitive is more acceptable, however, when the object of for is the beneficiary of the advocacy rather than the idea or action being advocated: two-thirds of the Panel approved The teacher advocated for her at-risk students. A careful writer will use transitive advocate in sentences indicating the idea or action, restricting the intransitive to sentences indicating the beneficiaries.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
advocator
(ˈædvəˌkeɪtə)n
formal a person who advocates
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
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| Noun | 1. |  advocator - a person who pleads for a cause or propounds an ideaindividual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" apologist, justifier, vindicator - a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution; "an apologist for capital punishment" constitutionalist - an advocate of constitutional government Darwinian - an advocate of Darwinism federalist - an advocate of federalism Gnostic - an advocate of Gnosticism humanist, humanitarian - an advocate of the principles of humanism; someone concerned with the interests and welfare of humans ideologist, ideologue - an advocate of some ideology internationalist - an advocate of internationalism irredentist, irridentist - an advocate of irredentism isolationist - an advocate of isolationism in international affairs Jansenist - an advocate of Jansenism libertarian - an advocate of libertarianism Maoist - an advocate of Maoism Marxist - an advocate of Marxism nationalist - an advocate of national independence of or a strong national government neoclassicist - an advocate of neoclassicism neutralist - an advocate of neutrality in international affairs nullifier - an advocate of nullification; someone who believes that a state can resist federal laws partitionist - an advocate of partitioning a country Platonist - an advocate of Platonism pro-lifer - an advocate of full legal protection for embryos and fetuses; someone opposed to legalized induced abortion presenter, sponsor - an advocate who presents a person (as for an award or a degree or an introduction etc.) protectionist - an advocate of protectionism republican - an advocate of a republic (usually in opposition to a monarchy) ritualist - an advocate of strict observance of ritualistic forms ruralist - an advocate of rural living secessionist - an advocate of secessionism secularist - an advocate of secularism; someone who believes that religion should be excluded from government and education separationist, separatist - an advocate of secession or separation from a larger group (such as an established church or a national union) spokesperson, representative, interpreter, voice - an advocate who represents someone else's policy or purpose; "the meeting was attended by spokespersons for all the major organs of government" suffragist - an advocate of the extension of voting rights (especially to women) admirer, booster, protagonist, supporter, champion, friend - a person who backs a politician or a team etc.; "all their supporters came out for the game"; "they are friends of the library" supremacist - a person who advocates the supremacy of some particular group or race over all others teleologist - advocate of teleology Thatcherite - an advocate of Thatcherism unilateralist - an advocate of unilateralism |
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