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.
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. 2002There 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. 1977We 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 courtSee More
Recent Examples on the WebHigh-profile espionage cases in the post-war period often invoke the grisly fate of the Rosenbergs, the first U.S. citizens to be convicted and executed by electric chair for sharing atomic secrets with the Soviet Union in peace time. Manori Ravindran, Variety, 1 Sep. 2022 Prosecutors have argued that executive privilege provided no basis for Bannon’s total refusal to appear, and that even if applicable, he was required to appear before lawmakers and invoke it response to specific topics. Spencer S. Hsu, Anchorage Daily News, 11 July 2022 Although the rule does not explicitly target fossil-fuel infrastructure, Democrats may seek to invoke it to reduce emissions contributing to global warming.BostonGlobe.com, 2 June 2022 New York State has what is known as a red flag law, under which people found to be a danger can be forced to surrender their guns, but no one tried to invoke it against Mr. Gendron.New York Times, 15 May 2022 He is expected to invoke attorney-client privilege if asked questions about the former president. Brigid Kennedy, The Week, 17 Aug. 2022 This month, the Justice Department revealed in court documents that Trump's attorney never said the former president intended to invoke executive privilege that would shield Bannon from the committee. Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY, 22 July 2022 But the Justice Department revealed last week that in a recent interview with federal investigators, former President Trump's current lawyer, Justin Clark, said that at no point did Trump actually invoke executive privilege over Bannon's testimony. Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 18 July 2022 Courts have traditionally left questions of whether to invoke executive privilege up to the current White House occupant. Farnoush Amiri, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Apr. 2022 See More
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