Other Ways to Say Someone Who Always Takes the Opposite View

On this page13 sections

1. Quick picker
2. Contrarian: the closest single word
3. Playing devil's advocate
4. Words for someone who disagrees just to be difficult
5. Words for someone who always says no
6. Words for someone who will not change their mind
7. Positive words: the independent thinker
8. Casual phrases people actually say
9. Contrarian, skeptic, cynic or pessimist?
10. Saying it at work, politely
11. Common mistakes
12. Practice
13. Quick answers

The usual word for someone who always takes the opposite view is a contrarian. If they argue the other side on purpose, to test an idea, they are playing devil’s advocate. If they simply refuse to agree with anything, they are contrary, argumentative or a naysayer; if they challenge accepted beliefs as a matter of principle, a maverick, nonconformist or iconoclast. Which one fits depends on two things: why the person disagrees, and whether you are praising them or complaining about them.

Below: a quick picker, the words grouped by motive and tone, the casual phrases people actually say (“he’d argue that black is white”), the difference between a contrarian, a skeptic and a pessimist, and practice with answers.

Quick picker

Contrarian: the closest single word

A contrarian is someone who habitually takes the opposite position to most people. The word works as a noun (“She’s a contrarian”) and as an adjective (“a contrarian view”, “He’s being contrarian again”). It is not automatically an insult. In finance, a contrarian investor buys when everyone else is selling, and a contrarian columnist is paid to argue against the consensus. In everyday talk, though, “Don’t be such a contrarian” means you are disagreeing for the sake of it.

• “He’s a natural contrarian – if the whole team likes a plan, he’ll find three reasons it will fail.”
• “Her contrarian take on the film made for the best part of the podcast.”
• “As a contrarian investor, he bought airline shares when they were at their lowest.”

Nearby nouns: dissenter (formal, someone who disagrees with an official view), dissident (someone who opposes a government, often at personal risk – too strong for an office), and heretic (originally religious; now used playfully: “I’m a heretic – I don’t like pizza”).

Playing devil’s advocate

To play devil’s advocate is to argue against an idea you may actually support, to see whether it stands up. The person is not necessarily contrary by nature; they have taken a role for the discussion. The phrase comes from the Catholic Church, where an official (the advocatus diaboli) was appointed to argue against declaring someone a saint, so that the case was properly tested.

• “Let me play devil’s advocate for a second: what if customers don’t want a subscription?”
• “She always plays devil’s advocate in planning meetings, and our plans are better for it.”
• “Are you really against the move, or are you just playing devil’s advocate?”

The word order is fixed: play or be devil’s advocate (usually with no article in the “play” form), and the apostrophe goes before the s. When someone does this all the time, it stops being a useful role and people start calling them contrary.

Words for someone who disagrees just to be difficult

• contrary (stress on the second syllable in this sense in British English: con-TRAIR-ee) – deliberately doing or saying the opposite: “Toddlers go through a contrary phase.” “Don’t be so contrary.”
• argumentative – quick to argue about anything: “He gets argumentative after a long day.”
• disagreeable – unpleasant and hard to get along with. It does not mean “disagrees a lot”; it describes a bad-tempered personality.
• contentious – likes controversy; more often used of a topic (“a contentious issue”) than a person.
• quarrelsome – starts petty arguments, often over small things.
• awkward, bolshie (British, informal) – uncooperative on purpose: “He’s just being awkward.” “She got a bit bolshie with the manager.”
• oppositional – opposes by reflex; it sounds clinical because of its use in child psychology, so use it carefully about a real person.
• cantankerous, crotchety – grumpy and argumentative, usually of older people; often affectionate in a story.

Words for someone who always says no

Sometimes the “opposite view” is always the negative one: whatever is proposed, it won’t work.

• a naysayer – someone who habitually doubts or rejects plans: “Ignore the naysayers and launch it.”
• a wet blanket, a killjoy, a party pooper – someone who spoils other people’s enthusiasm or fun.
• a doubting Thomas – someone who will not believe anything without proof (from the apostle Thomas in the Gospel of John).
• a prophet of doom, a doom-monger – always predicts disaster.

These overlap with pessimism, which is a different trait: a pessimist expects things to go badly, while a contrarian may be cheerfully optimistic about the one option nobody else likes. For words about gloomy expectations, see other ways to say someone who always thinks negatively.

Words for someone who will not change their mind

Taking the opposite view is one thing; refusing to move from it is another.

• stubborn – the everyday word. Can be positive in the right context (“stubborn determination”).
• obstinate – more formal and almost always negative: “his obstinate refusal to apologise”.
• pig-headed, mulish, bull-headed – informal and rude.
• inflexible, intransigent, immovable – suit negotiations and politics: “Both sides remained intransigent.”
• dogmatic – insists their beliefs are true without considering other views.
• set in their ways – resistant to new ideas, usually through age or habit; milder than the words above.

Positive words: the independent thinker

When you admire the person’s willingness to go against the crowd, choose one of these instead:

• an independent thinker, a free thinker – forms their own opinions.
• a maverick – goes their own way, often successfully; originally an unbranded calf, named after the Texas rancher Samuel Maverick.
• a nonconformist – does not follow social norms.
• an iconoclast – attacks established beliefs (literally, a “breaker of images”).
• a gadfly – annoys people in power by challenging them, usefully; the image goes back to Plato’s description of Socrates.
• a critical thinker, a healthy skeptic – questions claims and wants evidence.
• a voice of dissent – the person who says what others are afraid to say.

The same behaviour can be described either way. Compare: “She’s a maverick who challenged the board” and “She’s a troublemaker who wouldn’t back the board.” The facts are identical; the word choice is the verdict.

Casual phrases people actually say

• “He’d argue with a signpost.” / “She’d argue that black is white.”
• “If you said the sky was blue, he’d say it was green.”
• “He argues for the sake of arguing.”
• “She always has to be different.”
• “He just likes to stir the pot.” (to cause trouble on purpose)
• “She swims against the tide.” / “He goes against the grain.” (positive or neutral)
• “He’s always the odd one out in a vote.”
• “She plays the contrarian.” (as a role, often online)

For phrases that describe character more broadly, see idioms for personality.

Contrarian, skeptic, cynic or pessimist?

Spelling note: skeptic / skeptical is American; British English writes sceptic / sceptical. Skeptic is the noun (“a skeptic”) and skeptical the adjective (“skeptical of the claim”).

Saying it at work, politely

If you are writing a review or giving feedback, labels like “contrary” or “argumentative” will put the person on the defensive. Describe the behaviour and its effect instead:

• Positive: “He reliably stress-tests our plans and spots risks others miss.”
• Positive: “She isn’t afraid to challenge the consensus, which has saved us from at least one bad decision.”
• Constructive: “His objections would land better if he offered an alternative alongside them.”
• Constructive: “Once a decision is made, it would help if she backed it, even when she argued against it.”

For a person whose disagreement is really about their own interests, the words in other ways to say someone who only cares about themselves may fit better.

Common mistakes

• “He is skeptic of the plan.” Skeptic is a noun. Say “He is skeptical of the plan” or “He is a skeptic.”
• “She plays devils advocate.” The apostrophe is needed: devil’s advocate.
• “He’s very disagreeable with my idea.” Disagreeable means unpleasant, not “in disagreement”. Say “He disagrees with my idea.”
• Calling a pessimist a contrarian. If the person simply expects failure, they are a pessimist or naysayer; a contrarian opposes the majority, whichever way it leans.
• Calling a political dissident a contrarian. Contrarian suggests a habit or a pose; a dissident risks something for a conviction. The words are not interchangeable.
• “He is contrarian” marked as wrong. It is correct: contrarian is an adjective as well as a noun (“He’s being contrarian”, “a contrarian view”).

Practice

Choose the best word or phrase.

1. “I actually agree with you – I’m just ____ to see if the idea holds up.” (playing devil’s advocate / being obstinate / a cynic)
2. The two-year-old said “no” to everything all day. She was in a very ____ mood. (contrary / maverick / skeptical)
3. The fund manager made her name as a ____, buying unpopular stocks that later recovered. (naysayer / contrarian / wet blanket)
4. Despite the evidence, the committee remained ____ and refused to change the rule. (intransigent / iconoclastic / contentious)
5. Every new idea at the meeting was met with “It’ll never work” from the same ____. (naysayer / free thinker / dissident)
6. The young director was a ____ who ignored the studio’s rules and made a hit. (maverick / pig-headed / disagreeable)
7. “I’m ____ about the new supplement – where’s the evidence?” (skeptic / skeptical / contrary)

Answers: 1. playing devil’s advocate 2. contrary 3. contrarian 4. intransigent 5. naysayer 6. maverick 7. skeptical

Quick answers

What do you call someone who always takes the opposite side? A contrarian. In casual speech: contrary, argumentative, or “someone who argues for the sake of arguing”.

What is a word for someone who disagrees with everything? Contrary or argumentative; a naysayer if the disagreement is always negative.

Is being a contrarian a bad thing? Not necessarily. Contrarian thinking can expose weak plans and groupthink. It becomes a problem when the person opposes everything by reflex and never offers an alternative.

What is the difference between a contrarian and a devil’s advocate? A contrarian really holds the opposite view, usually as a habit. A devil’s advocate argues it on purpose for the discussion and may not believe it.

What is a formal word for someone who disagrees? A dissenter. In a vote or court ruling, the “dissenting” members are those who voted against.

What is a positive word for someone who goes against the crowd? An independent thinker, a maverick or a nonconformist.

Is there an idiom for someone who always disagrees? “He’d argue with a signpost” and “she’d argue that black is white” are the common British ones; “stir the pot” is used when the aim is to cause trouble.

How idioms and other figures of speech work is explained in our guide to figurative language.