Synonyms

invoke

American

[in-vohk] / ɪnˈvoʊk /

verb (used with object)

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.

invoke British

/ ɪnˈvəʊk /

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

"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

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

Past

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.

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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:

invoke invokes invoked invoking

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’s hard to find any modern examples of the corporate death penalty, but that doesn’t mean critics of abusive business haven’t attempted to invoke it.

From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026

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

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

"But we intend to call several of the law enforcement officers present in the courtroom, and I would like to invoke the rule of sequestration."

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

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

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

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

He and Iribarren sometimes invoked their discussions with the Trump administration, though they didn’t suggest the White House had endorsed their efforts, people familiar with the matter added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 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

She pointed to a New Jersey law that officials invoked to bar the editor of a local news outlet from publishing a police official’s home address.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Twisha's family lawyer Ankur Pandey told BBC Hindi that since the CBI has invoked sections related to abetment to suicide, "it means that the investigation has considered the death to be an alleged suicide".

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Because he is also invoked against rats, he will perhaps aid us in the office, too.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

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

Instead of invoking an internal decision maker, James proposes focusing directly on the interacting sensory and motor systems that generate behavior.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 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

CEO Ernie Herrman took a seemingly different rhetorical tack on his company’s earnings call Wednesday by uttering “self-inflicted” twice and invoking an “execution issue” five times.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Soon there’d be an article about her, about being a Spare, about invoking the impossible task.

From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023