What does evoke mean?
Word: Evoke
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Evoke means to bring a feeling, memory or picture into someone's mind.
Synonyms: summon up
Word origin: Comes from Latin evocare, built on vocare.
How do you spell evoke?
Syllables: e - voke
Tricky part: The opening vowel is said like the i in sit, so students write ivoke. It is an e.
Watch out for: ivoke, evvoke
Memory tip: An old song can echo in your mind, and echo starts with the very letter you need here.
Evoke in a sentence
Example 1: The film songs of the 1960s evoke a gentler Mumbai for my grandfather.
Example 2: The author's description of the monsoon evokes the sound of rain on a tin roof.
Example 3: A single line of that poem can evoke a whole summer afternoon.
Fun Fact
A smell or taste can evoke a memory so strongly that psychologists have a name for it: the Proust effect, after a French novelist who wrote of his childhood rushing back with a sip of tea and a small cake.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
ev___
a) ouk
b) owk
c) oke
d) oak
Show answer
c) oke. Spoke and awoke finish with the same three letters.
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option: Evoke comes from the Latin word vocare. What did vocare mean?
a) to bend
b) to carry
c) to call
d) to hide
Show answer
c) to call. To evoke a memory is, in a sense, to call it out of the past.
Word Champ
Choose the correct word for the blank:
Old family photographs can ___ the happy days of childhood.
a) evoke
b) elect
c) erode
d) evade
Show answer
a) evoke. Only this verb is about bringing something to mind.
Word Tally
Give 3 marks for each misspelt word in the list. What is the total?
evoke, rhythm, embarass, nostalgia, fragrence, vivid
a) 3
b) 12
c) 9
d) 6
Show answer
d) 6. Embarrass and fragrance are misspelt, so two words earn 3 marks each.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A painter wants her picture of a still lake to evoke peace. How should a viewer feel?
a) hungry and thirsty
b) calm and rested
c) tired and bored
d) puzzled and cross
Show answer
b) calm and rested
2. Which of these is most likely to evoke memories of a grandmother's kitchen?
a) the smell of mustard seeds frying
b) a printed list of bus timings
c) the cable of a phone charger
d) a brand-new maths workbook
Show answer
a) the smell of mustard seeds frying
