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:
The values they invoke to denounce the West—democracy, equality, human rights—are very much part of that tradition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
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
In areas such as climate science, pandemics, artificial intelligence or medical research, public conversations frequently invoke scientific consensus.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 9, 2026
Telemakhos gazed and said: “May Zeus, the lord of Hera, make it so! In far-off Ithaka, all my life, I shall invoke you as a goddess, lady.”
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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
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
Baron’s fandom is such that in conversations with clients and others, he often invokes “we” when discussing SpaceX’s ambitions, which include colonizing Mars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 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
The magic, though, is in how present we feel in this invoked past.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Overdeck invoked his right to move the dispute into a formal resolution process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026
The presidents of Romania and Bulgaria are due to discuss today whether Article 4 of the Nato treaty should be invoked.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
The declaration, invoked under two articles of Pakistan's constitution dealing with security, grants the federal government sweeping administrative powers over the province.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
The Governor would listen if Pong invoked Father Cham’s name, and Pong could show his own bracelet as proof.
From "A Wish in the Dark" by Christina Soontornvat
Both stressed the importance of dialogue, with Xi invoking the concept of the Thucydides trap, a historical paradigm that holds that rising powers inevitably clash with established ones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
But invoking it when it is plainly pretextual does.
From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026
The economic pressure has been matched by increasing forays by Chinese aircraft and warships close to Japan, and a stream of diplomatic invective invoking Japan’s wartime past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
The eccentric executive cast his criticism as friendly, invoking the French proverb "qui aime bien chatie bien" -- spare the rod, spoil the child.
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
There was no mysticism, no invoking of God, merely a passionate identification of all present with a will to right wrongs.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
