as in spell
a spoken word or set of words believed to have magic power
a Siberian shaman muttering mysterious invocations to ward off evil
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Recent Examples of invocation
As prospective farmers struggled to clear forests for rice fields in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Malaya, their efforts might have been accompanied by mystical incantations like this invocation against Iblis, the Devil in Islamic tradition.
—
H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2026
Part of the possibly-liberal register of his rhetoric is Karp’s frequent invocation of art (and his references to his liberal upbringing, including his artist mother).
—Simon Denny, Artforum, 20 Apr. 2026
Adding to the divisions has been some governors’ invocation of Christian religion in their support of the clubs.
—ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
And nothing — no military coalition, no legal invocation, no emergency session of the UN Security Council — has been able to stop it.
—Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for invocation
H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2026
Part of the possibly-liberal register of his rhetoric is Karp’s frequent invocation of art (and his references to his liberal upbringing, including his artist mother).
—Simon Denny, Artforum, 20 Apr. 2026
Adding to the divisions has been some governors’ invocation of Christian religion in their support of the clubs.
—ABC News, 15 Apr. 2026
And nothing — no military coalition, no legal invocation, no emergency session of the UN Security Council — has been able to stop it.
—Wael Mahdi, semafor.com, 13 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for invocation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for invocation
Noun
-
There was no hot water for several spells last winter.—
Anne Kadet,
Curbed,
15 May 2026
-
Over the course of Obsession's 108-minute runtime, Nikki transforms into an self-destructive, possessive, and dangerously violent shadow of her former self as Bear's spell forces her to fixate solely on her unnatural devotion to him—no matter the cost.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
15 May 2026
Noun
-
As prospective farmers struggled to clear forests for rice fields in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Malaya, their efforts might have been accompanied by mystical incantations like this invocation against Iblis, the Devil in Islamic tradition.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
24 Apr. 2026
-
In that loud and sultry enclosure, the aspirants lined up and repeated the same information, over and over, like an incantation to open a magic door.—
Taran Khan,
The Dial,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
As words have incantatory power to shift elements of fate, as well as matters of the heart, this project calls forward questions around an alleged family curse from Nagasaki and the writing process as its own counter-spell.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
-
Press conferences can be a blessing and a curse for football managers.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Invocation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/invocation. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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