evoke
Americanverb (used with object)
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to call up or produce (memories, feelings, etc.).
to evoke a memory.
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to elicit or draw forth.
His comment evoked protests from the shocked listeners.
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to call up; cause to appear; summon.
to evoke a spirit from the dead.
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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.
verb
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to call or summon up (a memory, feeling, etc), esp from the past
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to call forth or provoke; produce; elicit
his words evoked an angry reply
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to cause (spirits) to appear; conjure up
Other Word Forms
- evocable adjective
- evoker noun
- unevoked adjective
Etymology
Origin of evoke
First recorded in 1615–25; from Latin ēvocāre, from ē- e- 1 + vocāre “to call” (akin to vōx voice )
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.
“Each frame evokes a feeling,” the bumper said.
From Salon
Piggyback loans can evoke memories of the subprime mortgage crisis for some.
From MarketWatch
Its huge white storage tanks serve as canvases for slogans evoking Chavismo, the political ideology that governed Venezuela for the past 27 years and is named after late former leftist leader Hugo Chavez.
From Barron's
“I like to strip images down to what people recognize instantly. The feeling comes first, then I’m focused on evoking optimism, color and joy.”
From Los Angeles Times
Back then, Cook evoked the words of Martin Luther King Jr. and urged action.
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.
