Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Tending or having the power to evoke.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Tending or fitted to evoke or call forth.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Calling forth; serving to evoke; developing.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective that evokes (brings to mind) a memory, mood or image; redolent or reminiscent

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective serving to bring to mind

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin ēvocātīvus ("pertaining to summoning")

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Examples

  • Max Rosenthal: Following last week's embarrassing controversy involving Marines displaying a flag with what appeared to be a Nazi insignia, American and Afghan soldiers have alleged that a base near Kandahar was named Combat Outpost 'Aryan,' a term evocative of Nazi rhetoric.

    HUFFPOST HILL - Get Out Yer Mayan Calendars: Democrats Won Something Eliot Nelson 2012

  • The word evocative has appeared in 364 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Oct. 2 in "When 'Glass Ceiling' Is a Positive," by Phil Patton:

    NYT > Home Page By THE LEARNING NETWORK 2011

  • Learn more about the word "evocative" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary.com dictionary.

    NYT > Home Page By THE LEARNING NETWORK 2011

  • And it reflected a perspective that the man labelled "Premier Dad," a term evocative of his somewhat overbearing manner of trying to look out for Ontarians' interests, is physically incapable of shedding.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Adam Radwanski 2010

  • And it reflected a perspective that the man labelled "Premier Dad," a term evocative of his somewhat overbearing manner of trying to look out for Ontarians' interests, is physically incapable of shedding.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Adam Radwanski 2010

  • The kamikaze was literally the 'Wind of Heaven', a term evocative of the divine intervention which destroyed the Mongol fleet as it crossed the Yellow Sea.

    Army Rumour Service 2010

  • The kamikaze was literally the 'Wind of Heaven', a term evocative of the divine intervention which destroyed the Mongol fleet as it crossed the Yellow Sea.

    Army Rumour Service 2010

  • Also evocative is Chabon's fascination with secret knowledge.

    Bless This Man !! Lou Anders 2007

  • The surge (a word evocative of soft drinks and internet carriers) has sealed off the images of smashed doorways and roadside explosions.

    David Bromwich: Staying Innocent about Iraq 2008

  • Quindlen's lush descriptions of the splendor of the Blessing estate stand in evocative contrast to the rigidity of the upper-class mores that destroyed Lydia's and her brother's lives.

    Blessings: Summary and book reviews of Blessings by Anna Quindlen. 2002

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