invade
Americanverb (used with object)
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to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent.
Germany invaded Poland in 1939.
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to enter like an enemy.
Locusts invaded the fields.
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to enter as if to take possession.
to invade a neighbor's home.
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to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease.
viruses that invade the bloodstream.
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to intrude upon.
to invade the privacy of a family.
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to encroach or infringe upon.
to invade the rights of citizens.
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to permeate.
The smell of baking invades the house.
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to penetrate; spread into or over.
The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to enter (a country, territory, etc) by military force
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(tr) to occupy in large numbers; overrun; infest
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(tr) to trespass or encroach upon (privacy, etc)
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(tr) to enter and spread throughout, esp harmfully; pervade
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(of plants, esp weeds) to become established in (a place to which they are not native)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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reinvadeverb (used with object)
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quasi-invadedadjective
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uninvadableadjective
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uninvadedadjective
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invadableadjective
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invadernoun
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has invadedperfect 3rd person singular
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have invadedperfect
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am invadingprogressive 1st person singular
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is invadingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are invadingprogressive
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have been invadingperfect progressive
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invadessingular 3rd person
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has been invadingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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invadingparticiple
Past
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had invadedperfect
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had been invadingperfect progressive
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invadedsimple
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invadedparticiple
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were invadingprogressive plural
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was invadingprogressive singular
Future
Etymology
Origin of invade
First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin invādere, from in- in- 2 + vādere “to go, walk” ( see also wade)
Explanation
When you Invade, you aggressively take over or occupy a place. If a country's leader wants to gain more land, the military might invade a neighboring country. Not everything that invades is militaristic. Some things that invade are cultural, such as the phenomena of young, stylish people moving into a neighborhood that had never been thought of as cool before. In an instant, new restaurants and shops catering to the newcomers open and soon the area is overrun with people wearing, say, skinny jeans and complicated eyewear. Natives to the area lament, "This place has been invaded by hipsters."
Vocabulary lists containing invade
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 12–15
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Bronx Masquerade
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 1981, Joey Terrill made a triptych of tall, narrow canvases, titled “Chicanos Invade New York,” for Windows on White Street, a contemporary art series exhibited at a Lower Manhattan storefront.
From New York Times • Oct. 7, 2021
He released two films, “Where to Invade Next” and “Michael Moore in Trumpland,” penned numerous open letters, appeared regularly in interviews, and participated in activist events.
From Salon • Oct. 8, 2019
A 1995 headline in the New York Times read "Black Jeans Invade Big Blue" after Gerstner said he was rolling out casual dress.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2019
A 1995 headline in The New York Times read “Black Jeans Invade Big Blue” after Gerstner said he was rolling out casual dress.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 20, 2019
“Are you sure about the headline in the local paper: ‘Mechanized Rats Invade Hardware Store’?”
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
