invocation •\ˌin-və-ˈka-shən\• noun 1. the act of appealing for help 2. a prayer asking God's help as part of a religious service 3. calling up a spirit or devil The word invocation has appeared in 336 New York Times articles in the past year, including on Dec. 12 in the music review "Confessions of a Man in a Fedora" by Jon Pareles: During his concert at the Barclays Center on Thursday night, Leonard Cohen spent a lot of time in an unusual pose for a rock star: on his knees, like a supplicant or a suitor. Those are just two of the roles he takes in his songs. He's also a lover, a cad, a penitent, a believer, a cynic, a comedian, a kindly codger and a prophet of catastrophe. ... Mr. Cohen places his songs between the earthbound and the sublime, and his performance embodied that contrast in the vocals: his grave voice, a baritone that has lately been plunging toward bass but will still carry a tune, and the weightless near-whispers of his female backup singers. When his longtime collaborator Sharon Robinson stepped forward to sing lead on "Alexandra Leaving," it was clear how much she had been holding back. The English sisters Hattie and Charley Webb, playing Celtic harp and acoustic guitar, performed "If It Be Your Will," turning it into a celestial invocation. Learn more about the word "invocation" and see usage examples across a range of subjects on the Vocabulary dictionary.