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evoke or invoke?
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
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
Sara Ganim, USA TODAY, 1 July 2024
There are two obvious ways for Biden to be replaced on the ticket: Democrats could invoke the 25th Amendment and try to replace Biden with Harris, or delegates at the Democratic National Convention could revolt and cast their votes for someone other than Biden on the floor in Chicago.
—Ross O'Keefe, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 1 July 2024
The executive action relies on a section of the Immigration and Nationality Act that President Donald Trump previously invoked and resembles his unlawful attempts to ban asylum seekers — which courts repeatedly struck down.
—Farrah Hassen, Sun Sentinel, 30 June 2024
But hours after the story was published, the Biden campaign sent a fundraising message invoking his name.
—Maegan Vazquez, Washington Post, 29 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for invoke 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'invoke.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Invoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invoke. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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invoke
transitive verb
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