invitation

/,invi'teiʃn/

Thân thiện

She received a beautiful invitation to her friend's wedding.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A spoken or written request to attend an event or participate in an activity: A formal or informal offer asking someone to be present somewhere or to do something.
   • Something that encourages or tempts someone to do something, often something unwise: An action or quality that acts as an inducement or provocation, often leading to a negative outcome.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • I received a wedding invitation in the mail.
  • She sent out invitations to her birthday party.
  • His carelessness was an open invitation to theft. (Here, it means his carelessness tempted or encouraged theft.)

Advanced Usage

• "An invitation to (trouble/danger/etc.)": A situation or action that is likely to cause a specific negative result.
  • Leaving your car unlocked is an invitation to trouble.
• "At the invitation of (someone)": Having been invited by a specific person or group.
  • She spoke at the conference at the invitation of the organizers.

Variants and Related Words

• Invite (verb): To ask someone politely or formally to come somewhere or to do something.
  • I would like to invite you to dinner.
• Invitational (adjective): Restricted to participants who have been invited.
  • She competed in an invitational tennis tournament.

Synonyms

• Summons: A call to appear, especially in a court of law (more formal/authoritative).
• Bid: An offer, often to do a job for a particular price, but can be an archaic term for an invitation.
• Solicitation: The act of asking for or trying to obtain something from someone.

Related Phrases

• R.S.V.P.: An abbreviation for the French phrase "Répondez s'il vous plaît," meaning "Please respond," often found on written invitations.
• Open invitation: A standing offer that is valid for an extended period or indefinitely.
  • You have an open invitation to visit us anytime.

Idioms

• A standing invitation: A permanent or long-term invitation that does not need to be renewed.
  • My parents gave me a standing invitation for Sunday dinners.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a tempting allurement
   • she was an invitation to trouble
2. a request (spoken or written) to participate or be present or take part in something
   • an invitation to lunch
   • she threw the invitation away