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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Invoke: Definition, Usage & Common Mistakes (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：cite as authority (invoke)

invoke 🔊

/ɪnˈvəʊk/

vt.

to mention a law, rule, or someone important to support what you are saying or doing.

Invoke meaning illustrated: lawyer citing law book in courtroom authority scene

cite as authority 🔊

➕

/ˌsaɪt əz ɔːˈθɒrəti/

vt.

To formally refer to or make use of a law, principle, authority figure, or precedent to justify an action or argument.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'invocare': in- (upon) + vocare (to call). Literally 'to call upon'.

💡 Mnemonic

Imagine IN-VOICING (sounding like invoke) a rule, you are calling it into your VOICE to support you.

📖 Example

In her essay, she invoked the city's new environmental policy to argue for more parks. 🔊 In her essay, she cited the city's new environmental policy as authoritative support for her argument in favor of more parks.

🔗 Collocations

invoke a law – to call upon or refer to a specific statute or legal principle

invoke a precedent – to cite a previous legal case as justification or support

invoke the name of – to mention someone famous or respected to lend credibility

🔄 Synonyms

cite (vt.) – to quote or refer to as an example or proof

quote (vt.) – to repeat the exact words from a source

refer to (phr.v.) – to mention or allude to something

🚫 Antonyms

ignore (vt.) – to refuse to take notice of or acknowledge

disregard (vt.) – to pay no attention to; treat as unworthy of consideration

🌱 Derivatives

invoker (n.) – one who invokes

📖 Cultural Story

In ancient Rome, to 'invocare' meant to call upon a god for aid or protection, a formal act in religious rites. This sense of summoning external authority evolved into the modern legal and computational meanings.

Meaning 2：call into action (invoke)

invoke 🔊

/ɪnˈvəʊk/

vt.

to start a computer program or a particular function within it.

Invoke definition: hands typing to call a computer program into action diagram

call into action 🔊

➕

/ˌkɔːl ˌɪntə ˈækʃən/

vt.

To initiate or start a process, function, or program within a computer system, often by a specific command or instruction.

📁 Category：Technological Inventions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

To save the document, you simply invoke the ‘Save’ function with a keyboard shortcut. 🔊 To save the document, you simply initiate the 'Save' function by using a keyboard shortcut.

🔗 Collocations

invoke a function – to call upon and execute a specific subroutine or operation in programming

invoke a command – to issue an instruction that starts a process

invoke a procedure – to initiate a defined series of steps in a system

🔄 Synonyms

execute (vt.) – to carry out or perform a computer instruction or program

call (vt.) – to transfer control to a specific subroutine or function

initiate (vt.) – to cause a process or action to begin

🚫 Antonyms

terminate (vt.) – to bring to an end; to stop a process

🌱 Derivatives

invocable (adj.) – capable of being invoked or called upon