invoke
Americanverb (used with object)
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invokes,
present (3rd person singular)
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invoked,
past participle, past
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invoking
present participle
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to call for with earnest desire; make supplication or pray for.
to invoke God's mercy.
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to call on (a deity, Muse, etc.), as in prayer or supplication.
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to declare to be binding or in effect.
to invoke the law;
to invoke a veto.
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to appeal to, as for confirmation.
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to petition or call on for help or aid.
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to call forth or upon (a spirit) by incantation.
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Computers. to cause to be displayed, opened, or executed by clicking on a link, entering a search term, changing a parameter, etc..
Press and hold the R key to temporarily invoke the Rotate View tool, then drag your document to rotate.
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to cause, call forth, or bring about.
verb
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to call upon (an agent, esp God or another deity) for help, inspiration, etc
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to put (a law, penalty, etc) into use
the union invoked the dispute procedure
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to appeal to (an outside agent or authority) for confirmation, corroboration, etc
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to implore or beg (help, etc)
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to summon (a spirit, demon, etc); conjure up
Usage
What does invoke mean? Invoke means to intensely call for something or call on someone, especially as in a prayer to a god or higher power, as in The holy woman invoked God’s mercy in her prayers. Invoke can also mean to call for help from someone (again, usually a god), as in The shamans invoked the gods to save them from the invading army. Invoke may also refer to stating that something is in effect, like a law or rule, as in The police invoked the new littering law when they fined Demetri for tossing his soda bottle on the ground. And invoke can mean to call or conjure a spirit or demon, as in The warlock invoked a group of infernal imps to do his evil bidding. Example: The ritual is meant to invoke the wrath of the gods and bring misfortune to the people’s enemies.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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invokesimple
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invokessimple
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have invokedperfect
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has invokedperfect
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am invokingprogressive
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are invokingprogressive
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is invokingprogressive
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have been invokingperfect progressive
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has been invokingperfect progressive
Past
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invokedsimple
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had invokedperfect
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was invokingprogressive
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were invokingprogressive
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had been invokingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of invoke
First recorded in 1480–90; from Latin invocāre, equivalent to in- in- 2 + vocāre “to call,” akin to vōx voice
Explanation
To invoke is to call up something such as a law, a higher power, or even a ghost. In court, you might invoke the Fifth Amendment (the right not to say something that will make you look bad) if you don't want to talk. You can invoke all kinds of people or ideas, alive or dead: "She invokes the spirit of good writing when she proofreads her work." In a time of need, you might invoke a higher power. You could invoke Martin Luther King when talking about equal rights. You might even invoke the spirit of your dead cat at a séance. Just make sure you don't evoke (to bring on a strong emotional reaction) your dead cat; that would just be weird.
Vocabulary lists containing invoke
Latin Love, Vol I: vocare
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"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
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Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
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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.
See Examples For:
On Saturday at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Cong will be hoping she can invoke the same emotions in Brazilian Natalia Silva, when the pair fight for the vacant flyweight world title.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
“Renting forever doesn’t invoke a lot of confidence in our future finances,” Mortensen said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
In areas such as climate science, pandemics, artificial intelligence or medical research, public conversations frequently invoke scientific consensus.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
It did not explicitly invoke the unitary executive theory, but its fealty to the doctrine was clear.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
He just had to invoke Adidas, the goddess of off-brand shoes.
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Democrat Xavier Becerra, the frontrunner to become the state’s next governor, often invokes the story of his parents’ humble beginnings as immigrants from Mexico who, through hard work, built happy and productive lives in California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The self-described "anarcho-capitalist" invokes the "creative destruction" theory of US-Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter to describe how old industries inevitably fold in the face of innovation.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
The very history he so powerfully invokes to explain the 14th Amendment’s origins often becomes, in his jurisprudence, a reason to limit rather than enlarge its reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
It’s worth noting that Mrs. Biden invokes the current president by his name very sparingly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Still a third type of answer to Yali invokes the supposed importance of lowland river valleys in dry climates, where highly productive agriculture depended on large-scale irrigation systems that in turn required centralized bureaucracies.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Shortly before the plant was scheduled to close, the DOE invoked a rarely used Federal Power Act provision for electricity emergencies to keep it running.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
But Carney directly invoked the darker, flintier aspects of North American history when he was asked on Aug. 22 whether his country was now at war.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026
But the meaning and power of this particular clause has long been debated and seldom invoked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
New York's state constitution has its own prohibition on double jeopardy, which, if invoked here, could have a knock-on effect on Mangione's upcoming state trial.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
When he encountered a wave of enemy resistance to this attack, he stuck to his position without regard for his safety or reputation and gallantly invoked the law of supply and demand.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
But that deference cannot come simply from invoking the words national security.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
The majestic costumes of Catarina Copelli, invoking a rich brocaded world on the brink of disappearance, might be the real superstar.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
PepsiCo is moving its $1.7 billion global media account to Publicis Groupe from Omnicom, invoking a desire to change its model “for the next era of marketing.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
The eccentric executive cast his criticism as friendly, invoking the French proverb "qui aime bien chatie bien" -- spare the rod, spoil the child.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
“Thakra save me from the theory purse,” said Lazlo, blithely invoking the local deity, Thakra.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
