INVASIVE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does invasive mean? 

• INVASIVE (adjective)
  The adjective INVASIVE has 4 senses:

1. relating to a technique in which the body is entered by puncture or incision

2. marked by a tendency to spread especially into healthy tissue

3. involving invasion or aggressive attack

4. gradually intrusive without right or permission

  Familiarity information: INVASIVE used as an adjective is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INVASIVE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Relating to a technique in which the body is entered by puncture or incision

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Antonym:

noninvasive (relating to a technique that does not involve puncturing the skin or entering a body cavity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Marked by a tendency to spread especially into healthy tissue

Context example:

invasive cancer cells

Similar:

aggressive; fast-growing; strong-growing (tending to spread quickly)

Antonym:

confined (not invading healthy tissue)

Derivation:

invade (penetrate or assault, in a harmful or injurious way)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Involving invasion or aggressive attack

Synonyms:

incursive; invading; invasive

Context example:

invasive war

Similar:

offensive (for the purpose of attack rather than defense)

Derivation:

invade (march aggressively into another's territory by military force for the purposes of conquest and occupation)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Gradually intrusive without right or permission

Synonyms:

encroaching; invasive; trespassing

Context example:

trespassing hunters

Similar:

intrusive (tending to intrude (especially upon privacy))

Derivation:

invade (to intrude upon, infringe, encroach on, violate)

 Context examples 

A non-invasive or invasive adenocarcinoma arising from the neoplastic glandular cells in an adenomatous polyp.

(Adenocarcinoma in Adenomatous Polyp, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-invasive adenocarcinoma arising from a tubulovillous adenoma.

(Adenocarcinoma In Situ in Tubulovillous Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-invasive adenocarcinoma arising from a villous adenoma.

(Adenocarcinoma In Situ in Villous Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

A non-invasive or invasive adenocarcinoma arising from a tubulovillous adenoma.

(Adenocarcinoma in Tubulovillous Adenoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The application of non-invasive finger pressure along energy points throughout the body in order to relieve pain and induce a feeling of well-being.

(Acupressure Therapy, NCI Thesaurus)

An invasive therapeutic procedure to destroy tissue in the AV-node that contributes to an arrhythmia.

(Ablation of Cardiac Atrioventricular Node, NCI Thesaurus/ACC)

Ancient lakes are threatened by invasive species, warming waters and a host of other maladies.

(Ancient lakes: eyes into the past, and the future, National Science Foundation)

The vast majority of patients develop aggressive invasive squamous cell carcinomas.

(Aneuploid Dysplastic Oral Leukoplakia, NCI Thesaurus)

An invasive procedure that involves the surgical removal of liver tissue, biopsy is the current standard for diagnosing and staging chronic liver diseases.

(New compound helps find early signs of liver damage, National Institutes of Health)

The concept of MI and being able to recognize it is important for helping define molecular alterations important for progression from HGPIN to invasive carcinoma.

(Microinvasive Carcinoma of the Mouse Prostate Gland, NCI Thesaurus/MMHCC)