invade definition | Dictionary.com

Synonyms

foray, overrun, raid, assail, assault, attack, encroach, enter, infest, infringe, interfere, intrude

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invade - 5 dictionary results

in⋅vade

[in-veyd]

verb, -vad⋅ed, -vad⋅ing.

–verb (used with object)

1.	to enter forcefully as an enemy; go into with hostile intent: Germany invaded Poland in 1939.

2.	to enter like an enemy: Locusts invaded the fields.

3.	to enter as if to take possession: to invade a neighbor's home.

4.	to enter and affect injuriously or destructively, as disease: viruses that invade the bloodstream.

5.	to intrude upon: to invade the privacy of a family.

6.	to encroach or infringe upon: to invade the rights of citizens.

7.	to permeate: The smell of baking invades the house.

8.	to penetrate; spread into or over: The population boom has caused city dwellers to invade the suburbs.

–verb (used without object)

9.	to make an invasion: troops awaiting the signal to invade.

Origin:
1485–95; < L invādere, equiv. to in- in- ² + vādere to go; see wade

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Language Translation for : invade

Spanish:

invadir,

German:

angreifen,

Japanese:

侵略する

View 30 other languages »

in·vade   (ĭn-vād') Pronunciation Key
v.   in·vad·ed, in·vad·ing, in·vades

v.   tr.

To enter by force in order to conquer or pillage.
To encroach or intrude on; violate: "The principal of the trusts could not be invaded without trustee approval" (Barbara Goldsmith).
To overrun as if by invading; infest: "About 1917 the shipworm invaded the harbor of San Francisco" (Rachel Carson).
To enter and permeate, especially harmfully.

v. intr.
To make an invasion: "The X-rays showed that the cancer, which had invaded deeply into the chest cavity, was retreating" (Zach Rosen).

[Middle English, from Old French invader, from Latin invādere : in-, in; see in-² + vādere, to go.]

in·vad'er n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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invade
verb
1.	march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation; "Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939"
2.	to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate; "This new colleague invades my territory"; "The neighbors intrude on your privacy" [syn: intrude on]
3.	occupy in large numbers or live on a host; "the Kudzu plant infests much of the South and is spreading to the North"
4.	penetrate or assault, in a harmful or injurious way; "The cancer had invaded her lungs"

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Invade

At*tack"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Attacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Attacking.] [F. attaquer, orig. another form of attacher to attack: cf. It. attacare to fasten, attack. See Attach, Tack a small nail.]

1. To fall upon with force; to assail, as with force and arms; to assault. "Attack their lines." --Dryden.

2. To assail with unfriendly speech or writing; to begin a controversy with; to attempt to overthrow or bring into disrepute, by criticism or satire; to censure; as, to attack a man, or his opinions, in a pamphlet.

3. To set to work upon, as upon a task or problem, or some object of labor or investigation.

4. To begin to affect; to begin to act upon, injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.

On the fourth of March he was attacked by fever. --Macaulay.

Hydrofluoric acid . . . attacks the glass. --B. Stewart.

Syn: To Attack, Assail, Assault, Invade.

Usage: These words all denote a violent onset; attack being the generic term, and the others specific forms of attack. To attack is to commence the onset; to assail is to make a sudden and violent attack, or to make repeated attacks; to assault (literally, to leap upon) is to attack physically by a had-to-hand approach or by unlawful and insulting violence; to invade is to enter by force on what belongs to another. Thus, a person may attack by offering violence of any kind; he may assail by means of missile weapons; he may assault by direct personal violence; a king may invade by marching an army into a country. Figuratively, we may say, men attack with argument or satire; they assail with abuse or reproaches; they may be assaulted by severe temptations; the rights of the people may be invaded by the encroachments of the crown.

Invade

In*vade"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Invaded; p. pr. & vb. n. Invading.] [L. invadere, invasum; pref. in- in + vadere to go, akin to E. wade: cf. OF. invader, F. envahir. See Wade.]

1. To go into or upon; to pass within the confines of; to enter; -- used of forcible or rude ingress. [Obs.]

Which becomes a body, and doth then invade The state of life, out of the grisly shade. --Spenser.

2. To enter with hostile intentions; to enter with a view to conquest or plunder; to make an irruption into; to attack; as, the Romans invaded Great Britain.

Such an enemy Is risen to invade us. --Milton.

3. To attack; to infringe; to encroach on; to violate; as, the king invaded the rights of the people.

4. To grow or spread over; to affect injuriously and progressively; as, gangrene invades healthy tissue.

Syn: To attack; assail; encroach upon. See Attack.

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