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to call forth

to call forth

7 4.9
Cause a feeling or reaction to appear in people
  • phrasal verb
  • /kɔl fɔrθ/
translation icon : provocar
  • The teacher's encouragement called forth a greater effort from the students.
  • calls forth a response
  • call forth courage
  • imagination calls forth

The stars are riveting, and they also, shall we say, call forth speculation.

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Examples

  • May this food, so fresh and fragrant, call forth reverence for you in our souls.

  • Accordingly, President Washington called forth militia from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

    Academic text (2000)
  • God calls forth the past.

  • It's a way in which absence calls forth the living essence of other people.

  • Well, is there something in the nature of television that calls forth characters like this periodically?

  • His title suggested the vision of a united humankind that called forth such hope.

    Academic text (1991)
  • I begged him to stop, for fear of what we might accidentally call forth.

  • To reinscribe the past within narrative, of course, calls forth the historian's historical imagination.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Attention to neurasthenia in the 1880s called forth new concern for the adequacy of sleep.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The cranes were only feathery agents for her, catalysts that called forth the enduring love of a long lifetime.

    Fiction book (1997)

Synonyms

to bring
vsto call forth
1.0

To cause something to happen or create a change

is more about causing things to appear rather than changing states
to initiate
vsto call forth
426 4.5

To start something such as a project or discussion

is about making things appear or happen rather than only starting them
to bring about
vsto call forth
203 3.0

To make something happen

is slightly more general and not limited to feelings or reactions
to induce
vsto call forth
168 5.3

Cause a process, event, or feeling to start

is more about causing reactions or effects than starting processes
to stir
vsto call forth
131 3.7

To make someone feel a strong emotion

is more general and includes non emotional reactions or wider effects
to conjure
vsto call forth
126 7.9

To make something appear as if by magic

is broader and is used for normal causes not involving magic
to provoke
vsto call forth
115 3.7

Cause a reaction or feeling

is more general and not always about direct triggering or stimulation
to bring on
vsto call forth
81 3.5

Cause something, often a sickness or a bad feeling, to start

is neutral and does not stress negativity or harm
to evoke
vsto call forth
71 4.8

To bring a memory, image, or feeling to mind

is broader and not limited to mental images, memories, or thoughts
to raise
vsto call forth
  • Literature
68 9.1

To cause a spirit or dead person to come, often by magic

is less about ordinary causation and more about magical summoning
to give rise
vsto call forth
  • Formal
49 3.5

Make something happen

is used for producing tangible results rather than only feelings
to effect
vsto call forth
  • Formal
46 6.1

To cause something to happen

is focused on causing feelings or reactions rather than formal results
to conjure up
vsto call forth
40 6.2

To bring a memory to mind or make something seem to appear by magic

is more ordinary, causing things without a magical or imaginative sense
to engender
vsto call forth
  • Formal
26 6.9

To make a feeling or situation start

focuses more on gradual development rather than sudden appearance
to invoke
vsto call forth
23 7.7

Ask a spirit or god for help, often using a ritual

is about causing reactions or effects, not about appealing to spirits
to bring forth
vsto call forth
16 4.1

To produce or show something new for others to use

is general causing to appear, not necessarily focused on producing something new
to effectuate
vsto call forth
  • Formal
4 8.6

To make something happen, for example a plan or change

is more about causing reactions or things to appear
to arouse
vsto call forth
  • Literature
2 5.3

Make something start or appear, often like magic

is about neutral causation without implying a supernatural force
elicited
vsto call forth
5.7

A reaction that comes from something that makes someone feel something

is the active act that makes those responses appear rather than naming the result
to call down
vsto call forth
  • Literature
9.2

Ask a spirit or magic power to come and act

is more general and not tied to ritual invocation or magic

Antonyms

176 4.8

To stop public protest by force or by people in power

49 5.3

To hold back a feeling or reaction so it does not show

How Strong

to cause
1.0
to bring about
203 3.0
to trigger
422 4.2
to call forth
7 4.9
to provoke
115 3.7
to evoke
71 4.8
to suggest
1.6

Surface Forms

call forth infinitive
called forth past participle
calling forth present participle
calls forth third person singular

Morphology

call + forth

The meaning 'to cause something to appear or happen' is directly compositional from 'call' (to summon or bring) plus 'forth' (into view/notice), so the sense of 'bringing something out' is predictable. This follows a regular English verb + particle pattern and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Call forth comes from a simple image: someone uses call to bring people forth, that is, forward into view. So today call forth means 'to cause something to appear or happen', like a speech that brings out strong feelings.