evocative
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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.
Times Book Prize winner Danielle Trussoni — this cozy read blends a clever plot with the author’s evocative descriptions of Parisian food, wine and community reminiscent of Julia Child’s “My Life in France.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
“That a name evocative of Disneyland has been applied to a depopulated, decimated swath of Ukrainian coal-and-steel country could appear jarring as Europe’s deadliest fighting since World War II continues to rage,” they wrote.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
The jury praised Barclay's debut performance for its "exploration of Britishness, class, race and masculine identity, through an evocative, experimental use of language and a psychologically immersive soundscape"
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
Through evocative descriptions—the skylark’s trill “hovering in the quivering air,” or the sun rising over a “silvery, dew-thick cow meadow”—Ms. Haynes invites us to take part in the daily rhythms of our natural world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Huaca del Sol, the Moche capital, contains the largest adobe structure in the Andes, still hauntingly evocative despite centuries of systematic looting.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
