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

Garbus’ invocation of Aaron Spelling’s prime-time soap in her title can’t be accidental.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2026

And this invocation to keep moving reveals something about the chapel’s architecture—its dynamism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

“It is far from clear,” Lederman writes, that any such obstruction of federal law has occurred in Chicago that would warrant the act’s invocation.

From Slate • Oct. 30, 2025

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 • Oct. 23, 2025

First an invocation by a Negro preacher; then a woman spoke of what was happening to the children.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison