Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of, engaging in, or given to armed aggression.
  • adjective Of or relating to a disease or condition that has a tendency to spread, especially into healthy tissue.
  • adjective Of or relating to a medical procedure in which a part of the body is entered, as by puncture or incision.
  • adjective Tending to spread widely in a habitat or ecosystem. Used especially of nonnative species.
  • adjective Tending to intrude or encroach, as upon privacy.
  • noun An invasive species or organism.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Tending to invade; characterized by invasion; aggressive.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Tending to invade; characterized by invasion; aggressive.
  • adjective (Med.) tending to spread, especially tending to intrude into healthy tissue; -- used mostly of tumors.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective that invades a foreign country using military force
  • adjective of a plant or animal that invades a habitat to the detriment of native species
  • adjective medicine (of a carcinoma etc) that invades healthy tissue; (of a procedure) in which part of the body is entered
  • adjective intruding on one's privacy, or trespassing
  • noun An invasive organism, as, a plant or animal.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by a tendency to spread especially into healthy tissue
  • adjective gradually intrusive without right or permission
  • adjective involving invasion or aggressive attack
  • adjective relating to a technique in which the body is entered by puncture or incision

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old French invasif, from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, from Latin invāsus, past participle of invādere, to invade; see invade.]

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Examples

  • The catch is, is that the term invasive is often used not too discriminately.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • Currently, in the United States and in most parts of the world, the term invasive is supposed to be used - or is typically used to refer to a non-native species that is causing harm of some sort.

    NPR Topics: News 2011

  • JUNEAU, Alaska - An Alaska state lawmaker is making her way back to the state capital of Juneau after refusing what she called an invasive pat-down search at a Seattle airport.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • An Alaska state lawmaker is making her way back to the state capital of Juneau after refusing what she called an invasive pat-down search at a Seattle airport.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • JUNEAU, Alaska - An Alaska state lawmaker is making her way back to the state capital of Juneau after refusing what she called an invasive...

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com Brad Hirschfield 2011

  • For several years, the Captive Motion Picture Audience of America CMPAA has devoted itself to eliminating what it calls the "invasive" advertising techniques used by movie theaters, which it claims takes away from what going to the movies should be all about.

    FOXNews.com Hollie McKay 2012

  • Alaska state rep objects to airport search demand An Alaska state lawmaker is making her way back to the state capital of Juneau after refusing what she called an invasive pat-down search at a Seattle airport.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • JUNEAU, Alaska - An Alaska state lawmaker is making her way back to the state capital of Juneau after refusing what she called an invasive...

    The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com The Huffington Post News Editors 2011

  • Since being medically castrated, what he describes as his invasive fantasies have evaporated - that plus the rigorous assessment regimen he's gone through.

    A Very Public Sociologist 2009

  • Other regions, such as the Southeast, West, and southern Great Plains may face challenges from increased temperatures, water stress, saltwater intrusion, and the potential increase in invasive species and pests — the impacts of which may cause costs to outweigh benefits.

    Wonk Room » Global Boiling: A Stormy Forecast For Agriculture 2009

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