evoke

[ ih-vohk ]
See synonyms for evoke on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),e·voked, e·vok·ing.
  1. to call up or produce (memories, feelings, etc.): to evoke a memory.

  2. to elicit or draw forth: His comment evoked protests from the shocked listeners.

  1. to call up; cause to appear; summon: to evoke a spirit from the dead.

  2. to produce or suggest through artistry and imagination a vivid impression of reality: a short passage that manages to evoke the smells, colors, sounds, and shapes of that metropolis.

Origin of evoke

1
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ēvocāre, from ē- e-1 + vocāre “to call” (akin to vōx voice)

Other words from evoke

  • e·vok·er, noun
  • un·e·voked, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use evoke in a sentence

  • Bits of drawing caught his attention, a free, felicitous line here and there evoking an approving grunt.

    The Woman Gives | Owen Johnson
  • But suddenly the string from whichxxv he has been evoking these broad harmonies snaps with a snarl.

  • He enjoyed humor, and though he had a happy way of evoking it from others, possessed or exhibited very little himself.

    Sevenoaks | J. G. Holland
  • The stress laid on dreams appears to imply a practice of evoking spirits, whether of the deceased or of the living.

  • Within the city the emissaries of the Count of Paris were no more successful in evoking the martial ardor of the people.

British Dictionary definitions for evoke

evoke

/ (ɪˈvəʊk) /


verb(tr)
  1. to call or summon up (a memory, feeling, etc), esp from the past

  2. to call forth or provoke; produce; elicit: his words evoked an angry reply

  1. to cause (spirits) to appear; conjure up

Origin of evoke

1
C17: from Latin ēvocāre to call forth, from vocāre to call

evoke

Derived forms of evoke

  • evocable (ˈɛvəkəbəl), adjective
  • evoker, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012