invasive

American  

[in-vey-siv] / ɪnˈveɪ sɪv /

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.

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invasive British  

/ ɪnˈveɪsɪv /

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

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invasive Scientific  

/ ĭn-vā′sĭv /

1. 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.

2. 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

Etymology

Origin of invasive

First recorded in 1580–1600; French invasif, from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, derivative of Latin invāsus, past participle of invādere “to come into, go into, usurp, attack,” see invasion, -ive

Explanation

Anything invasive goes or grows where you don’t want it. An invasive procedure at the doctor hurts, and an invasive plant, like kudzu, grows all over the garden. And the yard. And the house. Invasive species are plants or animals that are not native to an environment and steadily spread, sometimes taking over the native landscape. The same could be said of diseases such as cancer. Invasive surgery usually involves making an incision with a scalpel. We call policies or laws invasive when they endanger personal or civil rights and liberties. No one likes an invasion. Raccoons are an invasive species in Scotland, but no one believed their fake accents anyway.

Example Sentences

But scientists are now exploring a very different approach that could someday reshape the eye without lasers, cutting, or invasive surgery.

From Science Daily • May 28, 2026

Burmese pythons and brown anoles, both invasive species in the US, are known carriers of Ro.

From Science Daily • May 26, 2026

Apple’s Erik Neuenschwander said the bill would force companies to “break encryption,” while Google’s Jeanette Patell cited invasive surveillance capabilities.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

“To put them back into that environment is introducing an invasive species into an environment in which it hasn’t lived before.”

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Henrietta’s tumor was the invasive type, and like hospitals nationwide, Hopkins treated all invasive cervical carcinomas with radium, a white radioactive metal that glows an eerie blue.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

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