invocation

American  

[in-vuh-key-shuhn] / ˌɪn vəˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act of invoking or calling upon a deity, spirit, etc., for aid, protection, inspiration, or the like; supplication.

2. any petitioning or supplication for help or aid.

3. a form of prayer invoking God's presence, especially one said at the beginning of a religious service or public ceremony.

4. an entreaty for aid and guidance from a Muse, deity, etc., at the beginning of an epic or epiclike poem.

5. the act of calling upon a spirit by incantation.

6. the magic formula used to conjure up a spirit; incantation.

7. the act of calling upon or referring to something, as a concept or document, for support and justification in a particular circumstance.

8. the enforcing or use of a legal or moral precept or right.

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invocation British  

/ ˌɪnvəˈkeɪʃən, -trɪ, ɪnˈvɒkətərɪ /

noun

1. the act of invoking or calling upon some agent for assistance

2. a prayer asking God for help, forgiveness, etc, esp as part of a religious service

3. an appeal for inspiration and guidance from a Muse or deity at the beginning of a poem

4. 1. the act of summoning a spirit or demon from another world by ritual incantation or magic

   2. the incantation used in this act

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Other Word Forms

• invocational adjective
• invocatory adjective
• preinvocation noun

Etymology

Origin of invocation

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English invocacio(u)n, from Latin invocātiōn-, stem of invocātiō “a calling upon”; invocate, -ion

Example Sentences

But Shakespeare as a brand remains unparalleled in our culture: Mere invocation of his work can confer a warm, orangey glow of importance upon an otherwise pedestrian reflection on it.

From The Wall Street Journal

Forty-plus years later, I regularly attend the monthly town council meeting in our adopted hometown of Fries, in southwest Virginia, and my favorite part is the opening invocation.

From The Wall Street Journal

Comparisons to the late-1990s dot-com bubble abound, as do invocations of the crash that followed.

From Barron's

The ovation had the character not of high-pitched cheering but of an involuntary low-pitched invocation of wonderment, even disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times

He and others say an invocation of the Insurrection Act would shift widespread concern about military policing of American streets into existential territory.

From Los Angeles Times