From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishadvocatead‧vo‧cate1 /ˈædvəkeɪt/ ●●○ AWL verb [intransitive, transitive] SUPPORT A PERSON, GROUP, OR PLANto publicly support a particular way of doing something Extremists were openly advocating violence.advocate for American English Those who advocate for doctor-assisted suicide say the terminally ill should not have to suffer.► see thesaurus at recommend→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
advocate• We were the only ones advocating for the victim.• Others still advocate genetic engineering of plants and animals as the greatest single technology that will feed the world.• The Law Lords ruling has advocated inequality resulting in some of Equitable's investors being treated far more favourably than others.• No one is advocating producing more of this material, as some fear.• Prevalent conservation orthodoxy advocates protection through production.• They advocated state control of all public services.• He advocates the instinct, the imagination, the unconsciousness, by means of the intelligence which he esteems so far beneath them ...• These were the people who advocated using force to stop abortion.• Some extremists are now openly advocating violence.advocate for• Volunteers serve as advocates for abused children.advocatead‧vo‧cate2 /ˈædvəkət, -keɪt/ ●●○ AWL noun [countable] 1 APPROVEsomeone who publicly supports someone or something SYN proponentadvocate of She’s a passionate advocate of natural childbirth.advocate for an advocate for the disabled2 BOSCTa lawyer who speaks in a court of law, especially in Scotland → devil's advocateExamples from the Corpus
advocate• Behavior, advocates of this approach argued, was determined by its consequences.• He is wrong, they argue, in considering a pro-choice advocate for vice president.• The club has vigorously defended the mayor against attacks by other disabled advocates who say Brown has done little for them.• The National Rifle Association and other advocates of firearms rights are expected to vigorously oppose these proposals.• He was noted for his prodigious memory, was deeply religious, and a staunch advocate of temperance.• Clinton was seen as a strong advocate for a variety of educational improvements.• The most substantive problem, which advocates try to hide, is that the flat tax is a sop to the rich.advocate of• She is a passionate advocate of natural childbirth.Origin advocate2 (1300-1400) Old French avocat, from Latin, past participle of advocare “to summon”, from ad- “to” + vocare “to call” 