ə̇nˈvād verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English invaden, from Latin invadere, from in- in- (II) + vadere to go — more at wade
transitive verb
1.
a. : to enter in a hostile manner : overrun with a view to conquest or plunder
soldiers invade enemy territory
b. obsolete : to make a personal attack upon : assault
what madness could provoke a mortal man to invade a sleeping god — John Dryden
2. : to encroach, intrude, or trespass upon : infringe
you can obtain legal counsel to determine if any of your rights have been invaded — R.O.Case
when government invades the traditional area of business — A.L.Nickerson
during his absence his house was invaded and plundered — E.D.Dickinson
resented these queries as invading the family privacy — John Dollard
3. : to penetrate in the manner of an invader:
a.
(1) : to grow over or spread into : permeate
the growing city has invaded the surrounding countryside — P.E.James
the imagery of movement … invaded secular as well as religious literature — R.W.Southern
doubts invade his mind
an odor of onions invades the room
(2) : to affect injuriously and progressively
gangrene invades healthy tissue
cholera invades the city
(3) : to push into : enter intrusively
the bow-roofed … South Ferry Terminal, its upper deck invaded by the el structure — American Guide Series: New York City
specifically : to enter in a molten state
compression … forces the granitic part of the crust downward to form a solid root and upward to invade the thick sediments of the mountain-forming belt as molten rock — W.H.Bucher
b. : to enter or take possession of : penetrate , engulf
at midmorning, the sun finally invades the very bottom of the gorge — Lester Womack
two thousand skiers … invade this alpine region — R.S.Monahan
layfolk … invaded ecclesiastical offices and revenues — G.G.Coulton
specifically : to penetrate steadily by taking up residence in (an area occupied by a population of a different class or ethnic composition)
c. : to raid or take by storm
possums invade the corn patch
a young and ambitious small-town girl … came to New York to invade the public-relations field — Publishers' Weekly
intransitive verb
: to make an invasion
Synonyms: see trespass