invasive

6 definitions • 13 examples

(of medical treatment) involving cutting the skin or putting something into one of the spaces in the body:

invasive procedure If you are taking a blood thinner, you may need to stop it before any invasive procedure.

invasive treatment In those days, the usual treatment for breast cancer was much more invasive.

minimally invasive Arthroscopic surgery is minimally invasive (= involving little or no cutting) and uses video cameras and specially designed instruments.

(of a disease) likely to spread into different areas of the body:

60 percent of the detected cancers were invasive, suggesting they could develop into something fatal.

The treatment is suitable for most patients with stage I and stage II invasive carcinomas.

An invasive organism has come into an environment from somewhere else and has a harmful effect on animals, plants, etc. already living in that environment:

invasive species Invasive species can become established and overwhelm native plants very quickly.

Many invasive alien grasses thrive when nitrogen is abundant.

Tourists might return with living plants that become invasive, or carry exotic fruits infested with invasive insects.

affecting someone's freedom or privacy (= the right to keep personal matters private) in a way that makes them uncomfortable or is not reasonable:

Body scanning devices that were once considered too invasive of privacy are now common in airports.

The survey should not include any invasive questions.

tending to spread in an uncontrollable way:

invasive plant species

medical invasive cancer cells

medical done by cutting into or putting something into the body:

invasive surgery/tests/treatment