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:
Citing Paul's "obsession" with him, Fauci said he would invoke the Fifth Amendment, refraining from answering questions to avoid self-incrimination, adding that it "pains me to do so."
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
It did not explicitly invoke the unitary executive theory, but its fealty to the doctrine was clear.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
He implores Congress to invoke this clause to make a case for new voting rights legislation that can address the post-Callais landscape.
From Slate ● Jun. 4, 2026
Porter’s death has become a rallying point for Los Angeles activists, who regularly invoke his name at Police Commission meetings and protests.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
She had conquered her fear of the ghosts Clara would invoke and the mice in the countryside, but earthquakes shook her to her bones and long after they had passed she was still trembling.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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
The book invokes James Carville and David Brooks as prominent talking heads, which is about 20 years out of date.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
The Philippines invokes its geographical proximity to the Spratly Islands as the main basis of its claim for part of the grouping.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
Second, the DOJ invokes the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and its requirement that all states must maintain a computerized, statewide voter registration list.
From Salon ● Apr. 3, 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
Both of Thursday’s decisions invoked the high court’s future stake in the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In the two decades since, Purcell has become one of election law’s most invoked doctrines.
From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026
The DOJ invoked the presumption of regularity and argued his arrest was part of an anti-terrorism dragnet, which the judge threw out.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
Billy Smith—his hair loose, wearing a dress, and barefoot after discarding his low-heel pumps—danced the woman invoked in the song.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
He told the panel he was invoking the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution under the advice of his attorneys.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
From there, he was quiet, invoking the Fifth Amendment in response to literally any question he faced.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
He also emphasized that invoking the Fifth Amendment was a protected right that must be "respected."
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
You’re a guy who loves Sepultura,’” Ian told him, invoking a musical link for the composer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Barred by law from invoking race explicitly, those committed to racial hierarchy were forced to search for new means of achieving their goals according to the new rules of American democracy.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
