evocative

English

Etymology

From Latin ēvocātīvus (“pertaining to summoning”). By surface analysis, evoke +‎ -ative.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/

• Audio (US):

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Adjective

evocative (comparative more evocative, superlative most evocative)

1. That evokes (brings to mind) a memory, mood, idea, feeling, or image; redolent or reminiscent.
   • 1992, Robert Gibbons, A Primer in Game Theory, Prentice-Hall, page 127f.:

     Using loose but evocative language, one might say that player 2 is threatening to play ${\displaystyle R'}$ if player 1 plays ${\displaystyle R}$.

   • 2025 November 25, Caroline Siede, “Zootopia 2 is a stagnant sequel with one stellar subplot”, in AV Club‎:

     Imperfect themes aside, what the first Zootopia had going for it was its gorgeous animation and evocative character design. From the clever visual worldbuilding of its city to the lush colors and textures of a nighttime chase through the Rainforest District, Zootopia was part of a wave of projects that proved CG animation could have the same depth and expressivity as a classic hand-drawn film.

Synonyms

• reminiscent
• redolent
• remindful
• resonant
• suggestive

Derived terms

• evocatively
• evocativeness
• unevocative

Translations

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

Afrikaans: evokatief Finnish: elävä (fi), mielikuvia herättävä French: évocateur (fr) German: evokativ, wachrufend (de), heraufbeschwörend (de), hervorrufend (de), atmosphärisch (de), sinnträchtig Hungarian: felidéző (hu) Irish: allabhrach Italian: evocativo (it) Maori: pūkare Romanian: evocator (ro), evocativ (ro) Russian: напоминающий (ru) (napominajuščij)

See also

• expressive
• vivid
• graphic
• powerful
• haunting
• moving
• poignant

Italian

Adjective

evocative

1. feminine plural of evocativo