evocative

adjective

evoc·​a·​tive i-ˈvä-kə-tiv How to pronounce evocative (audio)
: evoking or tending to evoke an especially emotional response
settings … so evocative that they bring tears to the eyesEric Malpass
evocatively adverb
evocativeness noun

Examples of evocative in a Sentence

He wrote a powerful and evocative biography. the Italian-American restaurant is decorated in a manner evocative of the charming outdoor cafés in Italy
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The combination of climbing around this strange building and having heard the almost legendary stories about Karl-Göran was evocative and haunting. Zac Ntim, Deadline, 19 Sep. 2025 Warren found Soderbergh’s oblique way of directing perfect for an oblique script — and a movie that became even more oblique in the editing, as Soderbergh reshuffled the linear narrative to be out of order and more evocative of past memories than a present-day story being told with immediacy. Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 19 Sep. 2025 The photo, informally titled The Scourged Back and depicting an escaped slave believed to have been named Peter Gordon, has been in wide circulation since the nineteeth century and is evocative of the horrors and injustice of slavery. News Desk, Artforum, 18 Sep. 2025 As boomers have aged, those images have become a bit unmoored from their place in time, and more evocative of a feeling of rebellion and change, or whatever. Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for evocative

Word History

First Known Use

1657, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of evocative was in 1657

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Cite this Entry

“Evocative.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/evocative. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

evocative

adjective
evoc·​a·​tive i-ˈväk-ət-iv How to pronounce evocative (audio)
: having the power to evoke an especially emotional response
an evocative photograph

More from Merriam-Webster on evocative

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