ADVOCATE Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'advocate' different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of advocate are back , champion , support , and uphold . While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," advocate stresses urging or pleading. // advocated prison reform

Q: When is it sensible to use 'back' instead of 'advocate'?

Although the words back and advocate have much in common, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling. // refusing to back the call for sanctions

Q: When can 'champion' be used instead of 'advocate'?

In some situations, the words champion and advocate are roughly equivalent. However, champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause. // championed the rights of children

Q: When is 'support' a more appropriate choice than 'advocate'?

The synonyms support and advocate are sometimes interchangeable, but support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given. // supports waterfront development

Q: Where would 'uphold' be a reasonable alternative to 'advocate'?

While the synonyms uphold and advocate are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked. // upheld the legitimacy of the military action

advocate 1 of 2

noun

ˈad-və-kət

Definition of advocate next

as in proponent

a person who actively supports or favors a cause Mark Twain, Noah Webster, and President Theodore Roosevelt are among past advocates of a reformed spelling system

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in lawyer

a person whose profession is to conduct lawsuits for clients or to advise about legal rights and obligations with such a strong case against him, he's going to need the best advocate that money can buy

Synonyms & Similar Words

advocate

2 of 2

verb

ˈad-və-ˌkāt

as in to endorse

to promote the interests or cause of environmentalists advocating agricultural methods designed to slow the destruction of rain forests

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word advocate different from other verbs like it?

Some common synonyms of advocate are back, champion, support, and uphold. While all these words mean "to favor actively one that meets opposition," advocate stresses urging or pleading.

advocated prison reform

When is it sensible to use back instead of advocate?

Although the words back and advocate have much in common, back suggests supporting by lending assistance to one failing or falling.

refusing to back the call for sanctions

When can champion be used instead of advocate?

In some situations, the words champion and advocate are roughly equivalent. However, champion suggests publicly defending one unjustly attacked or too weak to advocate his or her own cause.

championed the rights of children

When is support a more appropriate choice than advocate?

The synonyms support and advocate are sometimes interchangeable, but support is least explicit about the nature of the assistance given.

supports waterfront development

Where would uphold be a reasonable alternative to advocate?

While the synonyms uphold and advocate are close in meaning, uphold implies extended support given to something attacked.

upheld the legitimacy of the military action

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of advocate

Noun

As a school board member, Werner has taken a stance as a parent advocate. —

Mary Jo Pitzl, The Arizona Republic, 5 Nov. 2024 As chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sanders has been a consistent advocate for Medicare for All, raising taxes on the wealthy, addressing climate change through government action, and scaling back U.S. military involvement abroad. —

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024

Verb

Trump, after all, is on record advocating for one himself. —

Richard Haass, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024 The Obama campaign has advocated against this belief and somewhat disproved it by winning the presidency in 2008 and 2012 by relatively large margins. —

Stephen Pastis, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for advocate

Recent Examples of Synonyms for advocate

Noun

If former President Donald Trump is elected president, the nation's loudest anti-vaccine proponent could conceivably be in a position to drastically transform U.S. health policy.

Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Instead, inmates would have the option to spend their time participating in rehabilitation programs, which proponents say would reduce recidivism.

Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC News, 31 Oct. 2024