invoked

[ in-vohkt ]

adjective

1. (of a deity, saint, Muse, etc.) petitioned, prayed to, or called upon for help or aid:

   On all four sides of the obelisk there are inscriptions associating the invoked deities with the cardinal points of the compass.

2. prayed or asked for with earnest desire:

   Many drivers who have miraculously escaped from car accidents credit the invoked protection of St. Christopher.

3. declared to be in effect:

   While overseas he was detained by local police for allegedly misstating his company's registered assets—a rarely invoked charge.

4. appealed to or mentioned, as for confirmation or justification:

   This logic of caution is most recognizable in the often invoked slogan that “risk management is good business.”

5. (of a spirit) called forth or summoned by incantation:

   The initiation ritual is a one-to-one encounter with an initiator, who acts as agent for the invoked powers in the spirit world.

6. Computers. displayed, opened, or executed as a result of clicking on a link, entering a search term, changing a parameter, etc.:

   If you click on the Back arrow, the invoked view will replace the current view in the navigation history.

7. caused or brought about by a certain thing or in a certain way (often used in combination):

   The report ignored the millions of refugees fleeing the recent military-invoked escalation of violence in the region.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of invoke.

Other Words From

• un·in·voked adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of invoked¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; invoke ( def ) + -ed ²( def ) for the adjective senses; invoke ( def ) + -ed ¹( def ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Beiser clearly has not been convicted of a crime, which rules out one avenue for invoking the removal process.

From Voice of San Diego

A president can, in extreme cases, invoke the rarely used Insurrection Act to use the military for law enforcement.

From Fortune

It spoke to imminent arrest warrants while invoking another government-sounding entity.

From Washington Post

In October 2017, a Bismarck police officer invoked Marsy’s Law after shooting and wounding a man who he said punched him and gouged his eyes.

From ProPublica

You also don’t need to invoke Marsbot with a “hotword” like “Hey Google.”

From Search Engine Land

Most often, the doctrine is invoked by minors seeking an abortion without parental consent.

From The Daily Beast

That idea is often invoked in regards to the tricks memory plays, but I wonder how it might come into play in other ways.

From The Daily Beast

Its blasphemy law, which carries the death penalty, is frequently invoked and just as frequently misused.

From The Daily Beast

More clumsily, fireworks stand in for the Big Bang and a potato and peas are invoked to explain relativity.

From The Daily Beast

The juror is said to have invoked common sense in the face of the statutes as codified by the State of Illinois.

From The Daily Beast

Have mercy on thy people, upon whom thy name is invoked: and upon Israel, whom thou hast raised up to be thy firstborn.

From Project Gutenberg

The oath is a solemn appeal to God, invoked as witness, that some statement made is true.

From Project Gutenberg

The reason why these saints are invoked as a group is said to have been an epidemic which devastated Europe from 1346 to 1349.

From Project Gutenberg

The divinities whom he invoked he celebrated with rites corresponding with those traits which they represented.

From Project Gutenberg

You shake the sky, as if on the search for food; you are invoked by many, like the solar horse of the day.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• imposed
• prescribed
• required
• sanctioned