/ɹɪˈvoʊk/
Say it backRevoke means to officially withdraw or cancelsomething, such as a law, privilege, or decision. It connotes an authoritative reversal by an authority. The term emphasizes cessation of permission or validity, often following formal procedure or rule-based grounds.
"The government decided to revoke the permit after new safety concerns were raised."
"Her driver’s license was revoked for repeated violations."
"The university revoked his admission after uncovering falsified documents."
Pronounce as ri-VOKE, with the primary stress on the second syllable. IPA: US rɪˈvoʊk, UK rɪˈvəʊk, AU rɪˈvəʊk. The second syllable features a long O sound (/oʊ/ in US, /əʊ/ in UK/AU). Start with a light, quick first syllable /rɪ/ and finish with a full, rounded /voʊk/ or /vəʊk/ depending on accent. Mouth position: lips rounded for /oʊ/; keep the tongue high-mid for /oʊ/ and drop the jaw slightly at /əʊ/ in non-rhotic accents.
Common errors include misplacing the stress (saying ri-VOKE with incorrect emphasis) and shortening the vowel in the second syllable, like /voʊ/ to /vo/ or /vəʊ/. Another pitfall is blending the 'r' too heavily in non-rhotic accents, making it sound like /rəˈvoʊk/ with an extra vowel. Focus on the precise /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ glide and keep the /r/ compact at the start of the stressed syllable.
In US English, /rɪˈvoʊk/ features rhotic r and a clear /oʊ/ diphthong. In UK English, /rɪˈvəʊk/ often uses a shorter, more centralized /ə/ in the unstressed syllable and a non-rhotic accent, with the /r/ less prominent. Australian English tends toward /rɪˈvəʊk/ with a similar non-rhotic tendency, yet vowel quality shifts slightly toward a brighter /əʊ/. The key is the second-syllable diphthong: /oʊ/ vs /əʊ/ and the strength of rhoticity.
The challenge lies in the second-syllable diphthong and the consonant cluster /vɔːk/ simplified as /voʊk/. You’ve got to link the /r/ or /ɹ/ with a clean /ɪ/ to /ˈvoʊ/ glide, then end with a crisp /k/. For non-native speakers, the risk is misplacing stress, misproducing the /oʊ/ or /əʊ/ glide, and adding extra vowel sounds between /r/ and /voʊk/.
Yes—note that the verb’s stressed syllable bears the primary load on the vowel of the second syllable, and the second vowel sound is a clear diphthong that shifts slightly by accent. In practice, you’ll hear a distinct /voʊ/ or /vəʊ/ quality, not a simple monophthong. This helps distinguish revoke from evoke, which ends with a lighter /k/ and different vowel quality.
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The word revoke comes from the Latin revocare, meaning to call back or withdraw. Revocare is composed of re- (back, again) and vocare (to call). The sense evolved through Old French revoke and Middle English, maintaining the core idea of calling something back from its effect or validity. In English, revoke first appeared in contexts of legal and ecclesiastical decrees, where authorities could withdraw grants, privileges, or statements. By the 17th to 18th centuries, it extended to secular domains like licenses and bans, maintaining a formal tone. The modern usage often appears in policy, law, and administrative settings, where an official decision or permission is reversed. The pronunciation shift aligns with English stress patterns on the second syllable, and the verb form is consistent in conjugation (revokes, revoking, revoked). Historically, related words include revoke, invocation, and invocable, all sharing the root voc- meaning call, with revoke applying the idea of calling back or reversing an earlier call or grant.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "revoke" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "revoke"
-oke sounds
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