invasive
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French invasif, from Medieval Latin invasivus, from invādō (“enter, invade”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɪnˈveɪsɪv/
Adjective
invasive (comparative more invasive, superlative most invasive)
- That invades a foreign country using military force.
- Relating to military aggression generally.
- mid 1590s, William Shakespeare, King John, Act V, sc. 1:
- Oh inglorious league : / Shall we vpon the footing of our land, / Send fayre-play-orders, and make comprimiſe, / Inſinuation, parley, and baſe truce / To Armes Inuaſiue ?
- mid 1590s, William Shakespeare, King John, Act V, sc. 1:
- (of a plant or animal) That grows in environments which do not harbor natural enemes, often to the detriment of native species or of food or garden flora and fauna.
- an invasive species
- (medicine) (of a carcinoma etc) That invades healthy tissue; (of a procedure) in which part of the body is entered
- Intrusive on one's privacy.
- Coming from outside; originating externally.
- 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures 4 & 5:
- All invasive moral states and passionate enthusiasms make one feelingless to evil in some direction.
- 1902, William James, The Varieties of Religious Experience, Lectures 4 & 5:
Derived terms
Translations
invading a foreign country
|
of a plant or animal
in medicine
Noun
invasive (plural invasives)
- An invasive organism, as, a plant or animal.
- 2005, Barbara J. Euser, Bay Area Gardening: 64 Practical Essays by Master Gardeners, Travelers' Tales (→ISBN), page 174
- There is never a time to plant exotic, that is non-native, invasives. Exotic invasives such as pampas grass and French and Scottish broom were sold by local nurseries in the past, before their destructive nature was understood.
- 2005, Barbara J. Euser, Bay Area Gardening: 64 Practical Essays by Master Gardeners, Travelers' Tales (→ISBN), page 174
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