Invade

How to spell invade

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce invade

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does invade mean?

1. verbTo enter forcefully as an enemy, or to intrude on something that should be free of interference.

Invade in a sentence

• The general planned to invade the neighbouring country at dawn.

• Tabloid reporters often invade the privacy of celebrities.

Where does invade come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb invadere, which meant 'to go into' or 'to fall upon', built from the prefix in- 'into' and the verb vadere 'to go' or 'to walk'. The same vadere also gave English 'evade' (to go out of, to escape) and 'pervade' (to go through), so the silent root that sits at the heart of all three is the simple idea of going. English took invade in during the fifteenth century, at first in the military sense of an armed force marching into hostile territory, and the older Latin flavour of 'falling upon' someone is still felt when we speak of disease or weeds invading. Because the root is vadere, the spelling keeps a single d and ends in a quiet -e; remembering the family link to 'evade' helps fix that ending. The broader sense of intruding on someone's space or privacy grew naturally from the original picture of forcing your way in.

How the word is built

• in- (into)
• vad (from Latin vadere: to go, walk)
• -e