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

/ 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

invasive

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.

Other Word Forms

• uninvasive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of invasive¹

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,” invasion, -ive

Example Sentences

Obviously, that can be hard to uncover without asking invasive questions that aren’t appropriate on the first or second date.

Read more on MarketWatch

That means eradicating invasive species such as possums, rats and mustelids—a group that includes weasels, ferrets and stoats.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

“When deer are eating native plants, those are being replaced by invasive annual grasses, and then those dry out quickly and burn easily,” Barton said.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A report released this month by the Exmoor Society said pine martens could help control invasive species such as grey squirrels and keep the ecosystem balanced.

Read more on BBC

Researchers have described the test as a "liquid biopsy" and said the "world-first approach" could pave the way for faster, cheaper and less invasive brain cancer diagnosis.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• nosy