INVADE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does invade mean? 

• INVADE (verb)
  The verb INVADE has 4 senses:

1. march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation

2. to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate

3. occupy in large numbers or live on a host

4. penetrate or assault, in a harmful or injurious way

  Familiarity information: INVADE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INVADE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they invade    ... he / she / it invades   
Past simple: invaded   
Past participle: invaded   
-ing form: invading   

Sense 1

Meaning:

March aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

invade; occupy

Context example:

Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939

Hypernyms (to "invade" is one way to...):

assail; attack (launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "invade"):

infest; overrun (invade in great numbers)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

invader (someone who enters by force in order to conquer)

invasion (the act of invading; the act of an army that invades for conquest or plunder)

invasive (involving invasion or aggressive attack)

Sense 2

Meaning:

To intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

encroach upon; intrude on; invade; obtrude upon

Context example:

The neighbors intrude on your privacy

Hypernyms (to "invade" is one way to...):

come in; enter; get in; get into; go in; go into; move into (to come or go into)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "invade"):

foray into; raid (enter someone else's territory and take spoils)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

invader (someone who enters by force in order to conquer)

invasion (any entry into an area not previously occupied)

invasive (gradually intrusive without right or permission)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Occupy in large numbers or live on a host

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

infest; invade; overrun

Context example:

the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North

Hypernyms (to "invade" is one way to...):

inhabit (be present in)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Something ----s something

Derivation:

invasion (any entry into an area not previously occupied)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Penetrate or assault, in a harmful or injurious way

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Context example:

The cancer had invaded her lungs

Hypernyms (to "invade" is one way to...):

interpenetrate; permeate (penetrate mutually or be interlocked)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

invasion ((pathology) the spread of pathogenic microorganisms or malignant cells to new sites in the body)

invasive (marked by a tendency to spread especially into healthy tissue)

 Context examples 

A morphologic finding indicating that the cutaneous melanoma has invaded the reticular dermis.

(Clark Level IV, NCI Thesaurus)

Specialized immune cells within skin tissue help to fight invading organisms.

(Skin Microbes and the Immune Response, NIH)

It shows anaplastic features and usually invades neighboring brain structures.

(Choroid Plexus Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus/Adapted from WHO)

While the regulatory landscapes of ILCs are primed for a quick defense upon infection, those of T cells are minimally prepared when the pathogen invades.

(Rapid-response immune cells are fully prepared before invasion strikes, NIH)

Testing revealed that the fused cells developed characteristics of more malignant cells, which are more likely to invade surrounding tissues and spread to other parts of the body.

(Proximity to muscle cells may promote spread of prostate cancer cells, National Institutes of Health)

A renal cell cancer that has invaded the renal capsule and has spread to lymph nodes and other anatomic sites.

(Metastatic Renal Cell Cancer, NCI Thesaurus)

Carcinomas invade the surrounding tissues and tend to metastasize to other anatomic sites.

(Carcinoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A benign neoplasm arising from connective and soft tissues that does not invade adjacent tissues or metastasize to other anatomic sites.

(Benign Connective and Soft Tissue Neoplasm, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

It does not invade nearby tissue or spread to other parts of the body.

(Benign Neoplasm, NCI Dictionary)

A term for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and can invade nearby tissues.

(Cancer, NCI Dictionary)