invoke
Americanverb (used with object)
-
invokes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
invoked,
past participle, past
-
invoking
present participle
-
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.
-
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.
-
to cause, call forth, or bring about.
verb
-
to call upon (an agent, esp God or another deity) for help, inspiration, etc
-
to put (a law, penalty, etc) into use
the 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
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
-
invokesimple
-
invokessimple
-
have invokedperfect
-
has invokedperfect
-
am invokingprogressive
-
are invokingprogressive
-
is invokingprogressive
-
have been invokingperfect progressive
-
has been invokingperfect progressive
Past
-
invokedsimple
-
had invokedperfect
-
was invokingprogressive
-
were invokingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"The Odyssey," Vocabulary from Part 1 of the epic poem
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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
AI leaders, mostly men, mostly in their 40s and 50s, constantly invoke the sci-fi they were raised on.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 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
I’m waiting for the phrase that will invoke it.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
Mr. Mansour invokes free-market competition while seeking a different regulatory framework for his version of sports betting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
That, of course, includes the very Hindus whose beliefs Ramaswamy so frequently invokes.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
As evidence, he invokes, throughout the book, numerous instances of one nation waging war on another, or assisting U.S. forces against rival tribes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 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
America’s patriotic song “America the Beautiful” invokes our spacious skies, our amber waves of grain, from sea to shining sea.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Some had invoked Susan B. Anthony’s opposition to the 15th Amendment, which extended voting rights to Black men but not women.
From Slate ● Nov. 3, 2026
She says she has faced a coordinated smear campaign against her, which has at times invoked her son's death and accusations that she is betraying his memory.
From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026
The magic, though, is in how present we feel in this invoked past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
The judge said the US government had invoked two conventions to secure Marimi's appearance in a US court.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
For myself, I sent a humble greeting to St. Medericus, the Hermit, w'ho is invoked against intestinal disorders.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
This seemingly bizarre choice soon comes to feel entirely natural, invoking associations with Ireland as a place of verbal, theatrical and musical creativity under duress from another power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Arellano: Becerra goes for the jugular against Hilton by invoking Huntington Beach!
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
But invoking it when it is plainly pretextual does.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
Maxwell appeared virtually before the US House Oversight Committee in February this year but refused to answer questions, invoking her right to remain silent as she pleaded the Fifth Amendment.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
I found a way around that by invoking his wife.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
