We all know someone who delights in countering our viewpoint. But is there a word for this behavior in English?
Below, we’ll show you what to call a person who always takes the opposite view from our list of great terms and phrases.
Words for Someone Who Always Takes the Opposite View
- Contrarian
- Devil’s advocate
- Eristic
- Iconoclast
- Nonconformist
- Maverick
- Defiant
- Antagonistic
- Oppositional
- Contentious
- Dissident
- Dissenter
- Sophist
- Skeptic
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A “contrarian” will take a contrary position in most circumstances, sometimes just to be defiant for the sake of it.
- When someone is playing “devil’s advocate,” they are testing the strength of your argument by providing an argument in favor of an opposing view.
- Someone who is “eristic” enjoys causing conflict and expresses opposing or contrary views just to start an argument.
Keep reading! In the next section, we’ll discuss three words for someone who always takes the opposite view. We’ll even provide some helpful example sentences using each of them.
Contrarian
Merriam-Webster defines a “contrarian” as “a person who takes a contrary position or attitude.”
Usually, a “contrarian” makes a point of going against the grain and opposing whatever is the popular opinion or attitude about an issue.
The word “contrarian” can have some positive and some distinctly negative connotations. Essentially, it depends on why someone tends to take a contrary view.
Sometimes, a person is truly disillusioned by their society and takes a contrary view to all the ideals perpetuated in it.
Other times, someone who always says the opposite of what everyone else thinks is just being defiant to get attention.
It is often important for people who express “contrarian” attitudes to feel distinct and individualistic from their peers.
Alternatively, they may just enjoy irritating people by being oppositional. It’s hard to know their motivations with certainty!
Nonetheless, let’s see how we can use the term “contrarian” in a couple of example sentences:
I would like to propose a contrarian view to Ralph’s commentary in the interest of fairness and balance.
Bruce has always been a contrarian, and I fear he is beginning to alienate himself from his peers.
Devil’s Advocate
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a “devil’s advocate” is “someone who pretends, in an argument or discussion, to be against an idea or plan that a lot of people support, in order to make people discuss and consider it in more detail.”
In other words, a “devil’s advocate” always argues the opposite viewpoint, not because they actually believe that you are wrong, but to test the strength of your argument against the opposition.
This idiom has a fascinating history. Namely, the “devil’s advocate” or “advocatus diaboli” was once a formal position in the Catholic Church.
Thus, people who acted as “devil’s advocate” would accrue evidence and argue against a person being given sainthood to ensure that a candidate is considered thoroughly.
Now, it refers to someone who argues for the opposing point of view to make sure that other people are firm in their stance and have considered alternative positions.
So, let’s see how we can use this phrase in some example sentences:
If you don’t mind, I’d like to play devil’s advocate for a moment and raise a counterpoint.
She was always keen to play devil’s advocate, especially because of how it frustrated her father.
Eristic
“Eristic” is a good adjective for someone who takes the opposite view simply because they like to create a little conflict.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines “eristic” as “used to describe an argument that aims to disagree with another one, rather than explain or discover the truth.”
In other words, an “eristic” person will take the opposite view to yours whether or not they believe it themselves.
Thus, they have no interest in actually coming to a reasonable conclusion. Rather, they simply enjoy having an argument. After all, the term “eristic” comes from the Greek word “eristikós” meaning “eager for strife.”
In Greek mythology, Eris was the goddess of strife or discord. She was known for starting wars and causing conflict and bloodshed among human beings. Why? Well, for the funsies of course. An “eristic” person may share this glee for chaos. Although, they hopefully draw the line at bloodshed.
Finally, check out some example sentences that include the term “eristic”:
Claire is one of our more eristic students, and I can’t say I find her input particularly helpful.
I can tell you’re being eristic, so I have decided not to engage in this discussion.