invoke

in·voke

transitive verb \in-ˈvōk\

in·vokedin·vok·ing

Definition of INVOKE

1

a : to petition for help or support

b : to appeal to or cite as authority

2

: to call forth by incantation : conjure

3

: to make an earnest request for : solicit

4

: to put into effect or operation : implement

5

: bring about, cause

— in·vok·er noun

Examples of INVOKE

1. He invoked the memory of his predecessor.
2. She invoked history to prove her point.
3. He invoked his Fifth Amendment privileges.
4. The suspect invoked his right to an attorney.
5. invoke the authority of the court
6. 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
7. 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
8. 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

Origin of INVOKE

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

Related to INVOKE

Synonyms

beget, breed, bring, bring about, bring on, catalyze, cause, create, do, draw on, effectuate, engender, generate, induce, effect, make, occasion, produce, prompt, result (in), spawn, translate (into), work, yield

Related Words

conduce (to), contribute (to); decide, determine; begin, establish, father, found, inaugurate, initiate, innovate, institute, introduce, launch, pioneer, set, set up, start; advance, cultivate, develop, encourage, forward, foster, further, nourish, nurture, promote; enact, render, turn out

Near Antonyms

impede, limit, restrict; clamp down (on), crack down (on), crush, dampen, put down, quash, quell, repress, smother, squash, squelch, stifle, subdue, suppress; arrest, check, control, curb, inhibit, rein (in), restrain, retard; can [slang], kill, snuff (out), still; abolish, demolish, destroy, extinguish, liquidate, quench

Rhymes with INVOKE

ad hoc, backstroke, baroque, bespoke, blow smoke, breaststroke, brushstroke, bur oak, chain-smoke, convoke, cork oak, cowpoke, downstroke, evoke, ground stroke, heatstroke, holm oak, in-joke, keystroke, kinfolk, kinsfolk, menfolk, pin oak, post oak, presoak, provoke, red oak, revoke, scrub oak, she-oak, sidestroke, silk oak, slowpoke, sunchoke, sunstroke, tan oak, townsfolk, uncloak, unyoke, upstroke, white oak, workfolk