invitation

American  

[in-vi-tey-shuhn] / ˌɪn vɪˈteɪ ʃən /

noun

• invitations
  plural

1. the act of inviting.

2. the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.

3. something offered as a suggestion.

   an invitation to consider a business merger.

4. attraction or incentive; allurement.

5. a provocation.

   The speech was an invitation to rebellion.

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adjective

1. invitational.

invitation British  

/ ˌɪnvɪˈteɪʃən /

noun

1. 1. the act of inviting, such as an offer of entertainment or hospitality

   2. ( as modifier )

      an invitation dance

      an invitation race

2. the act of enticing or attracting; allurement

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preinvitation
  noun
• reinvitation
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• invitations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of invitation

1590–1600; < Latin invītātiōn- (stem of invītātiō ), equivalent to invītāt ( us ) (past participle of invītāre to invite ) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

An invitation is a request, a solicitation, or an attempt to get another person to join you at a specific event. You need an invitation to go to the Academy Awards, even if you're George Clooney. When you ask people to attend a party, visit your beach house, or witness your marriage, you invite them — using the verb — and you've given them an invitation. An invitation can be delivered as a verbal request, a beautifully engraved card, or even puffs of smoke behind an airplane. If you give invitations to two hundred of your closest friends to attend your Mardi Gras party, you’d better make a lot of jambalaya.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

invitation invitations

After those factors were considered, receiving an invitation to screening was associated with a 26 percent lower risk of dying from colorectal cancer.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The invitation to the chief justice is in keeping with tradition and for aspiring lawyers, the presence of the country's top judge at their convocation is usually seen as a matter of pride.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

“I try to be honest and authentic and raw and feral and committed in a moment, so that there’s an invitation of experience versus a force-feeding of something that I hope the audience should feel.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Qatar also invited Iranian officials to visit and be briefed on the details of the search and rescue attempts, but Iran didn’t respond to the invitation, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Is this an invitation to come and see Madeline?

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

She has received discounts on some items, like candles, while others—including invitations, bridesmaid dresses and groomsmen tuxedos, even her wedding gown—were free.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

We’re all sitting at home sipping adaptogenic mushroom tonics, journaling our feelings and politely declining invitations to any event after 7 p.m. because we’d rather optimize our sleep scores than take a tequila shot.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

She started by painting folk art-inspired invitations for a friend’s baby shower.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Some Americans who are getting married have even joked on Reddit that they may purchase 500 stamps before the price increase to cut down the cost of mailing out save-the-dates, wedding invitations and thank-you cards.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Tillie said that practically all the invitations that went out from Century Village said that.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

Related Words

• appeal
• bid
• challenge
• date
• encouragement
• overture
• petition
• proposition
• request
• solicitation
• suggestion
• summons