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View synonyms for

invasive

[in-vey-siv]

adjective

  1. characterized by or involving invasion; offensive.

    invasive war.

  2. invading, or tending to invade; intrusive.

    Every party we have is crashed by those invasive neighbors.

  3. Medicine/Medical.requiring the entry of a needle, catheter, or other instrument into a part of the body, especially in a diagnostic procedure, as a biopsy.

    An x-ray is not invasive, but it may not tell us everything we need to know.

  4. (of a plant, especially a nonnative one) posing a threat to a plant community by growing vigorously and spreading prolifically among the previously established vegetation.

    One of these invasive Asian grasses is making its way to the forest floors of southern Indiana.



invasive

/ ɪˈɪɪ /

adjective

  1. of or relating to an invasion, intrusion, etc

  2. relating to or denoting cancer at the stage at which it has spread from its site of origin to other tissues

  3. (of surgery) involving making a relatively large incision in the body to gain access to the target of the surgery, as opposed to making a small incision or gaining access endoscopically through a natural orifice

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

invasive

    1. Relating to a disease or condition that has a tendency to spread, especially a malignant cancer that spreads into healthy tissue.

    2. Relating to a medical procedure in which a part of the body is entered, as by puncture or incision.

  1. Not native to and tending to spread widely in a habitat or environment. Invasive species often have few natural predators or other biological controls in their new environment. Although not always considered harmful to an environment, invasive species can become agricultural or ecological pests and can displace native species from their habitats. Invasive species are often introduced to an environment unintentionally, as the zebra mussel was to the Great Lakes, but are sometimes introduced for a purpose, as kudzu was to the southern US, where it was originally planted to control erosion.

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Other Word Forms

  • uninvasive adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of invasive1

First recorded in 1580–1600; French invasif, from Medieval Latin Աīܲ, derivative of Latin Աܲ, past participle of Ա “to come into, go into, usurp, attack,” invasion, -ive
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Specifically, there's been an increase in invasive species — a term used to describe introduced organisms that bring dramatic and often destructive changes, and sometimes can drive other species to extinction.

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But the Dolphin Surf is the invasive species that has long-established brands most worried.

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An MRI, further ultrasounds and biopsies revealed she had Stage 1 invasive cancer, and Munn underwent a double mastectomy.

From

Until now, men with a very enlarged prostate had to travel to England for treatment or have more complex or invasive surgery in Northern Ireland.

From

The injunction prohibits Mr Sawyer from undertaking or facilitating any invasive cosmetic procedures, including but not limited to the BBL, anywhere in England and Wales.

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invasion of privacyinvected