convoke
verb
transitive verb
Did you know?
The Latin noun vox ("voice") and verb vocare ("to call") have given rise to many English words, including convoke. Other English descendants of those roots are usually spelled with voc and have to do with speaking or calling. Thus, a vocation is a special calling to a type of work; an evocative sight or smell calls forth memories and feelings; and a vocal ensemble is a singing group. Provoke, irrevocable, equivocate, and vociferous are a few of the other descendants of vox and vocare. The related noun convocation refers to a group of people who have been called together.
Synonyms
- assemble
- call
- convene
- muster
- summon
Example Sentences
Washington Post, 23 Nov. 2019 Colombian President Ivan Duque convoked the summit to enhance cooperation that began with the 1978 signing of a treaty by eight Amazon nations but which has stalled even as threats from climate change and unchecked development have increased. Washington Post, 6 Sep. 2019 Demonstrators are demanding new elections, but Maduro has vowed instead to resolve the crisis by convoking a special assembly to rewrite the constitution. Washington Post, 30 June 2017 Maduro has vowed to resolve his nation’s crisis by convoking a special assembly to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution. Christine Armario, The Seattle Times, 18 May 2017 Maduro has vowed to resolve his nation's crisis by convoking a special assembly to rewrite Venezuela's constitution. Fox News, 18 May 2017 Maduro has vowed to resolve the crisis by convoking a special assembly to rewrite the nation’s constitution, a proposition that has further infuriated the opposition. Washington Post, 12 May 2017 Luis Emilio Rondon, one of five members of the electoral council and the only one who in the past has sided with opposition initiatives, said Maduro's decree alone was not enough to convoke a constitutional assembly. Hannah Dreier And Joshua Goodman, chicagotribune.com, 3 May 2017 Ortega Diaz, who was long a government loyalist, has repeatedly challenged Maduro’s request to convoke a constitutional assembly. Washington Post, 13 June 2017 See More Word History
Middle French convoquer, from Latin convocare, from com- + vocare to call, from voc-, vox voice — more at voice
1598, in the meaning defined above
convoke
verb
Synonyms & Similar Words
- summon
- muster
- convene
- call
- assemble
- gather
- rally
- call up
- call in
- group
- collect
- reconvene
- call out
- knell
- reassemble
- amass
- round up
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- dissolve
- break up
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of convoke are call, cite, convene, muster, and summon. While all these words mean "to demand the presence of," convoke implies a summons to assemble for deliberative or legislative purposes.
Call may be used less formally for summon.
The words cite and convoke can be used in similar contexts, but cite implies a summoning to court usually to answer a charge.
Convene is somewhat less formal than convoke.
While the synonyms muster and convoke are close in meaning, muster suggests a calling up of a number of things that form a group in order that they may be exhibited, displayed, or utilized as a whole.
The meanings of summon and convoke largely overlap; however, summon implies the exercise of authority.