invoke

[ in-vohk ]

/ ɪnˈvoʊk /

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See synonyms for: invoke / invoked / invoking on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), in·voked, in·vok·ing.

to call for with earnest desire; make supplication or pray for: to invoke God's mercy.

to call on (a deity, Muse, etc.), as in prayer or supplication.

to declare to be binding or in effect: to invoke the law; to invoke a veto.

to appeal to, as for confirmation.

to petition or call on for help or aid.

to call forth or upon (a spirit) by incantation.

to cause, call forth, or bring about.

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The verb tenses can be split into which 3 primary categories?

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past, present, and future

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Origin of invoke

1480–90; <Latin invocāre, equivalent to in-in-² + vocāre to call, akin to vōxvoice

OTHER WORDS FROM invoke

in·vo·ca·ble, adjectivein·vok·er, nounre·in·voke, verb (used with object), re·in·voked, re·in·vok·ing.un·in·vo·ca·ble, adjective

un·in·voked, adjective

Words nearby invoke

in vivo, in vivo fertilization, invocate, invocation, invoice, invoke, involucel, involucrate, involucre, involucrum, involuntary

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use invoke in a sentence

He invoked his trustworthiness as a pastor, narrated facts about the vaccine over the nursing home’s public announcement system and reminded staff that nothing had happened to him or the others who had been vaccinated.
Most nursing home workers don’t want the vaccine. Here’s what facilities are doing about it.|Rachel Chason, Rebecca Tan, Jenna Portnoy, Erin Cox|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
Yet our country has failed to invoke the Defense Production Act to produce enough masks for health-care workers and other essential workers.
Everyone should be wearing N95 masks now|Joseph G. Allen|January 26, 2021|Washington Post
O’Connell is fond of invoking instincts in explaining how rituals unfold.
In the animal kingdom, rituals that connect, renew and heal|Barbara King|January 22, 2021|Washington Post
If the case were moved to arbitration, the company could invoke immunity there as well, experts say.
The Nursing Home Didn’t Send Her to the Hospital, and She Died|by Sean Campbell|January 8, 2021|ProPublica

In his victory speech, Warnock, 51, invoked Georgia’s history of racial oppression and voter suppression by hailing his vote from his mother.
Ebenezer Baptist: MLK’s church makes new history with Warnock victory|DeNeen L. Brown|January 6, 2021|Washington Post
Before you invoke images of a nation enjoying more indolence than industry, there is an uncomfortable statistic to digest.
Obama’s Extravagant Summer Break? More Like, America’s Vacation-Deficit Disorder|Clive Irving|August 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Alas, I must invoke Marx, because it is a question of limited resources.
Reading Prison Novels In Prison|Daniel Genis|May 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Do I, a law professor, get to invoke the privilege when I write a piece for The Daily Beast?
Democracy Demands a Journalist-Source Shield Law|Geoffrey R. Stone|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Does a personal blogger writing on Facebook get to invoke the privilege?
Democracy Demands a Journalist-Source Shield Law|Geoffrey R. Stone|April 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps; but why do these films invoke Greek history at all, if they aim only at visual fantasy?
‘300’ Is a Misleading, Muscle-Bound Travesty of Ancient History|James Romm|March 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I round the threshold wandering here,Vainly the tempest and the rain invoke,That they may keep my lady prisoner.
The Poems of Giacomo Leopardi|Giacomo Leopardi
How far off and faint seem the years of that dead crime my brother would invoke for the punishment of this sweet soul!
The Circular Study|Anna Katharine Green
Dan waited for him to invoke deity with the asthmatic wheeziness to which mirth reduced his vocal apparatus.
A Hoosier Chronicle|Meredith Nicholson
Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invoke his aid against the other.
Key-Notes of American Liberty|Various
But what liberty can he invoke—he who has disavowed and injured all liberties?
The Arena|Various

British Dictionary definitions for invoke

invoke

/ (ɪnˈvəʊk) /

verb (tr)

to call upon (an agent, esp God or another deity) for help, inspiration, etc

to put (a law, penalty, etc) into usethe union invoked the dispute procedure

to appeal to (an outside agent or authority) for confirmation, corroboration, etc

to implore or beg (help, etc)

to summon (a spirit, demon, etc); conjure up

Derived forms of invoke

invocable, adjectiveinvoker, noun

Word Origin for invoke

C15: from Latin invocāre to call upon, appeal to, from vocāre to call

usage for invoke

Invoke is sometimes wrongly used where evoke is meant: this proposal evoked (not invoked) a strong reaction

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

invoke

verb (used with object), in·voked, in·vok·ing.

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Origin of invoke

OTHER WORDS FROM invoke

Words nearby invoke

Content related to invoke

Words related to invoke

How to use invoke in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for invoke

verb (tr)

Derived forms of invoke

Word Origin for invoke

usage for invoke