invoke

American  

[in-vohk] / ɪnˈvoʊk /

verb (used with object)

• invokes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• invoked,
  past participle,  past
• invoking
  present participle

1. to call for with earnest desire; make supplication or pray for.

   to invoke God's mercy.

2. to call on (a deity, Muse, etc.), as in prayer or supplication.

3. to declare to be binding or in effect.

   to invoke the law;

   to invoke a veto.

4. to appeal to, as for confirmation.

5. to petition or call on for help or aid.

6. to call forth or upon (a spirit) by incantation.

7. Computers. to cause to be displayed, opened, or executed by clicking on a link, entering a search term, changing a parameter, etc..

   Press and hold the R key to temporarily invoke the Rotate View tool, then drag your document to rotate.

8. to cause, call forth, or bring about.

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invoke British  

/ ɪnˈvəʊk /

verb

1. to call upon (an agent, esp God or another deity) for help, inspiration, etc

2. to put (a law, penalty, etc) into use

   the union invoked the dispute procedure

3. to appeal to (an outside agent or authority) for confirmation, corroboration, etc

4. to implore or beg (help, etc)

5. to summon (a spirit, demon, etc); conjure up

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Usage

What does invoke mean? Invoke means to intensely call for something or call on someone, especially as in a prayer to a god or higher power, as in The holy woman invoked God’s mercy in her prayers.  Invoke can also mean to call for help from someone (again, usually a god), as in The shamans invoked the gods to save them from the invading army. Invoke may also refer to stating that something is in effect, like a law or rule, as in The police invoked the new littering law when they fined Demetri for tossing his soda bottle on the ground. And invoke can mean to call or conjure a spirit or demon, as in The warlock invoked a group of infernal imps to do his evil bidding. Example: The ritual is meant to invoke the wrath of the gods and bring misfortune to the people’s enemies.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• invoker
  noun
• reinvoke
  verb (used with object)
• invocable
  adjective
• uninvocable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• invoking
  present
• invoked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• invoke
  simple
• invokes
  simple
• have invoked
  perfect
• has invoked
  perfect
• am invoking
  progressive
• are invoking
  progressive
• is invoking
  progressive
• have been invoking
  perfect progressive
• has been invoking
  perfect progressive

Past

• invoked
  simple
• had invoked
  perfect
• was invoking
  progressive
• were invoking
  progressive
• had been invoking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will invoke
  simple
• will have invoked
  perfect
• will be invoking
  progressive
• will have been invoking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of invoke

First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin invocāre, equivalent to in- in- ² + vocāre “to call,” akin to vōx voice

Explanation

To invoke is to call up something such as a law, a higher power, or even a ghost. In court, you might invoke the Fifth Amendment (the right not to say something that will make you look bad) if you don't want to talk. You can invoke all kinds of people or ideas, alive or dead: "She invokes the spirit of good writing when she proofreads her work." In a time of need, you might invoke a higher power. You could invoke Martin Luther King when talking about equal rights. You might even invoke the spirit of your dead cat at a séance. Just make sure you don't evoke (to bring on a strong emotional reaction) your dead cat; that would just be weird.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

invoke invokes invoked invoking

“Renting forever doesn’t invoke a lot of confidence in our future finances,” Mortensen said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

In areas such as climate science, pandemics, artificial intelligence or medical research, public conversations frequently invoke scientific consensus.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026

It’s hard to find any modern examples of the corporate death penalty, but that doesn’t mean critics of abusive business haven’t attempted to invoke it.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

They invoke California laws that “encourage” employees to take new jobs – policies that are "credited with powering the tech revolution that has made companies based in this state the envy of the world."

From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026

The State decided to invoke an unprecedented theory of “transferred intent” to make the crime eligible for the death penalty.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

The very history he so powerfully invokes to explain the 14th Amendment’s origins often becomes, in his jurisprudence, a reason to limit rather than enlarge its reach.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

Still, the spread of air conditioning invokes a sense of dread among those who fear that the technology will allow Europeans to ignore the consequences of global warming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

The Philippines invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the grouping.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

Revised wording no longer explicitly invokes Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which allows the Security Council to authorize armed force to restore peace.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

Still a third type of answer to Yali invokes the supposed importance of lowland river valleys in dry climates, where highly productive agriculture depended on large-scale irrigation systems that in turn required centralized bureaucracies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

But Carney directly invoked the darker, flintier aspects of North American history when he was asked on Aug. 22 whether his country was now at war.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Twisha's family lawyer Ankur Pandey told BBC Hindi that since the CBI has invoked sections related to abetment to suicide, "it means that the investigation has considered the death to be an alleged suicide".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

In May the Justice Ministry invoked its new anti-extraterritorial-jurisdiction rules for the first time, forbidding Chinese entities from cooperating with the European Commission’s investigation, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, into Chinese security-equipment maker Nuctech.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

At a civil deposition in 2022, he invoked the Fifth more than 440 times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

In March, with just half a year remaining until the dedication, he invoked the “czar” clause of his construction contracts.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

The eccentric executive cast his criticism as friendly, invoking the French proverb "qui aime bien chatie bien" -- spare the rod, spoil the child.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Instead of invoking an internal decision maker, James proposes focusing directly on the interacting sensory and motor systems that generate behavior.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 25, 2026

CEO Ernie Herrman took a seemingly different rhetorical tack on his company’s earnings call Wednesday by uttering “self-inflicted” twice and invoking an “execution issue” five times.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The Giants might see an opportunity to get out from under the second year of his deal by invoking the “high-risk activities” language from the CBA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

Barred by law from invoking race explicitly, those committed to racial hierarchy were forced to search for new means of achieving their goals according to the new rules of American democracy.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• apply
• enforce
• resort to