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to invade

to invade

380 4.4
To enter another country with soldiers to take control
  • verb
  • /ɪnˈveɪd/
translation icon : invadir
  • And then the Russians invaded Georgia and the country.
  • invade a country
  • invade and occupy
  • invading forces

And then when when Putin invaded Crimea, we did nothing.

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Examples

  • The enemy plans to invade the territory at dawn to seize control.

  • No sooner was it over than Russia invaded Ukraine, annexing Crimea.

  • A lot of this might change as Iran is expected to invade Israel soon.

  • Because Great Britain invaded India back in the day.

  • When his father was just a baby, the Japanese had invaded his village.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And so when the US invaded Vietnam, we lost.

  • A month after we moved, Germany invaded Poland and the war broke out.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The Athenians were invaded by an army from the outside.

  • And in August 2008, Russia invaded Georgia and effectively detached two mountain enclaves from its territory.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Throughout history, various nations have attempted to invade neighboring lands for resources.

Synonyms

to conquer
vsto invade
397 3.7

To take control of a place by force or to beat something hard like a fear

enters with armed forces focusing on initial seizure rather than long rule
to occupy
vsto invade
324 5.9

To take control of a place, often by force

enters a region with armed forces aiming to seize and hold it
to overrun
vsto invade
20 7.0

Take control of a place by force, usually quickly

enters with armed forces but not necessarily so rapid or total

Antonyms

466 2.8

To stop taking part in a place or activity

How Aggressive

to conquer
397 3.7
to occupy
324 5.9
to invade
380 4.4
to raid
66 4.1
to encroach
27 7.3
to enter
1.0

Surface Forms

invade infinitive
invaded past
invaded past participle
invading present participle
invades third person singular

Morphology

invade = in + vade

Although historically analyzable as in- + vade, 'vade' is not a standalone English word and the prefix sense ('in/into') is not transparently productive for average learners, so the meaning cannot be reliably derived from the parts.

Etymology

Invade comes from the Latin parts in- 'into' and vadere 'to go', the same 'go' part you see in words like evade. Think of soldiers 'going into' another country by force — that is why invade means to enter and take control by force.