evocative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of evocative
1650–60; < Latin ēvocātīvus, equivalent to ēvocāt ( us ) ( see evoke, -ate 1) + -īvus -ive
Explanation
Use the adjective evocative when you want to describe something that reminds you of something else. If your mom baked a lot when you were a kid, the smell of cookies in the oven is probably evocative of your childhood. Evocative comes from the Latin word evocare, which means to "call out" or "summon." Think of a batch of cookies summoning a memory from your childhood. To summon something you need a voice, and indeed, the Latin word for voice is vocare. Other related words include the noun vocation, which means "a calling."
Vocabulary lists containing evocative
This Week in Words: April 13–19, 2019
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"Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell
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The Night Circus
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a delicate, nuanced performance, homespun, funny, real and evocative of the way that there’s more to older people than we sometimes bother to see.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
St. Patrick offered evocative details of slaving and missionary work in the lands around the Irish Sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
Fragments of evocative poetry are found throughout the lyrics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
She has channeled that into art, writing the evocative and hilarious tween comedy PEN15.
From Slate ● Jun. 23, 2026
There is something evocative in the idea that the material used to write code gave rise to the word itself: form became function.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
