invoke

Definition

To call upon (a person, a god) for help, assistance or guidance.

Etymology

From Middle English *invoken, envoken, borrowed from Old French envoquer, from Latin invocāre (“to call upon”), itself from in- + vocare (“to call”). Doublet of invocate.

Example Sentences

• "The envoy invoked the King of Kings's magnanimity to reduce his province's tribute after another drought."
• "Whatever the pressures that have invoked the Minister's diktat, the outcome is Gilbertian."
• "In May [1995], the court issued an interdict preventing the service withdrawal, pending consultation on the closure to passenger traffic of three short stretches of railway around Glasgow and its hinterland that were only used by the Fort William Sleeper - and for which BR had failed to invoke standard closure procedures."

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