Definition of INVOKES (original) (raw)
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Don’t feel bad if you have difficulty remembering the difference between evoke and invoke, as the words are quite similar in many ways and have considerable overlap in meaning. However, the words do differ, and you would not want to substitute one for the other. Invoke is used of putting into effect or calling upon such things as laws, authority, or privilege (“the principal invoked a rule forbidding students from asking questions”). Evoke is primarily used in the sense “to call forth or up” and is often found in connection with such things as memories, emotions, or sympathy.
Synonyms
Examples of invoke in a Sentence
Nietzsche is so complex that he can be invoked in support of many outlooks, some of them brutal or nihilistic. —
Thomas Nagel, New Republic, 14 Jan. 2002 There are some people who commit murder as a way of invoking the death penalty. Capital punishment can sometimes, then, be equivalent to suicide. —George Freeman Solomon, People, 17 Jan. 1977 We began poring over the typewritten recipes at the dining room table, where I foolishly invoked the name of Julia Child … —Gael Greene, New York, 13 Sept. 1971
He invoked the memory of his predecessor. She invoked history to prove her point. He invoked his Fifth Amendment privileges. The suspect invoked his right to an attorney. invoke the authority of the court
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The White House invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a Carter-era law that give the president wide-ranging powers in an emergency. —Courtenay Brown, Axios, 1 Feb. 2025 The name was meant to invoke the rebirth of classical Roman values, which brought the Dark Ages to a close and ushered in the Renaissance. —David Conrads, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Jan. 2025 In seeking to tighten border security, Trump invoked a rule requiring immigrants to carry identification proving their status — something civil-rights groups who spoke to Newsweek say is all but certain to end up with American citizens being detained by police. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025 Literary historian Paul Zumthor argues that poetry with a purely oral tradition in that era invoked an open discourse, while written poetry, still communicated orally, made up a closed discourse. —David Silverberg, JSTOR Daily, 29 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for invoke 
Word History
Etymology
Middle English envoken, from Middle French invoquer, from Latin invocare, from in- + vocare to call, from voc-, vox voice — more at voice
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Time Traveler
The first known use of invoke was in the 15th century
Dictionary Entries Near invoke
Cite this Entry
“Invoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invoke. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 5 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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