How to Use invasive in a Sentence

invasive

1 of 2 adjective
  • At first, this will feel invasive.
    — Shaw Walters, Forbes.com, 23 Jan. 2026
  • And if your shrub is invasive, digging it up is an easy call.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2026
  • What do the invasive beetles do to ash trees?
    — Caitlin Looby, jsonline.com, 29 Oct. 2025
  • This marks the furthest north the invasive species has been found.
    — Addy Bink, The Hill, 21 Sep. 2025
  • No, dogwood trees do not have invasive roots.
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The invasive species can grow to more than five feet in length and weigh up to 17 pounds.
    — Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2026
  • There are plenty of freaky invasive species to worry about these days.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
  • But many are threatened by invasive plants that block light and fail to trap moisture.
    — Julie Orringer, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2026
  • The animals turned out to be the area’s first record of an invasive species.
    — Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 12 Sep. 2025
  • And then kindly fill in your friend on its invasive nature.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Feb. 2026
  • Bradford pear trees are known for their fishy odor and their invasive nature.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 16 June 2026
  • Each year, native trees and plants were crowded out by invasive species.
    — Michael Wells, Kansas City Star, 27 May 2026
  • Right now, invasive species trees block a view of the waterway.
    — Alixel Cabrera, The Salt Lake Tribune, 27 Mar. 2022
  • Here’s how to identify these invasive species—and what to do about them.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Could the same goal be achieved through less privacy-invasive means?
    — Alonzo Martinez, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Avoid adding diseased and invasive plants.
    — Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Do dogwood trees have invasive roots?
    — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Those criteria must be met for a plant to get listed as invasive.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 4 May 2026
  • This will also ensure that none of the invasive plants take root and return.
    — Michelle Mastro, The Spruce, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Tall, dense invasive common reeds were then able to move in and stifle native plants.
    — Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
  • For people and wildlife, the issue of invasive species can be a matter of life and death.
    — Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Yes, Joro spiders are an invasive species.
    — Audrey Gibbs, Nashville Tennessean, 18 Sep. 2025
  • While her mother may have viewed it as a form of connection, the act came across as invasive.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
  • The loss is mostly in native species; invasive snails are holding their own.
    — Joan Morris, Mercury News, 30 Mar. 2026
  • Root fragments can also spread this invasive species.
    — Jennifer Lobb, Martha Stewart, 30 Jan. 2026
  • Like non-native vines and trees, invasive shrubs can take over a landscape quickly.
    — Arricca Elin Sansone, Southern Living, 31 Jan. 2026
  • Remove or treat invasive weeds that could cause problems rather than spreading all those seeds around.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 5 Mar. 2026
  • For the past couple of years, volunteers have cut grass, trimmed and yanked out invasive vines.
    — Kenneth R. Gosselin, Hartford Courant, 28 June 2026
  • The team’s new non-invasive ultrasound probe is the first to solve this problem.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 28 Oct. 2025
  • And an invasive jumping worm is making headlines in the west.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 29 May 2026

invasive

2 of 2 noun
  • The wild lupine that species depends on was getting choked out by invasives.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Learn about native and invasive plants in the park, and which invasives can be used in a tasty salad.
    — Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 1 Jan. 2024
  • So the invasives can't handle it, but the goldfields are uniquely adapted to it.
    — Christopher Intagliata, Scientific American, 3 May 2023
  • Volunteers learn how to maintain areas to keep them free of invasives.
    — Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Mar. 2024
  • Left unchecked, these invasives choke out native plants, girdle trees, and cause a host of other problems.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Dec. 2025
  • Potted fruit trees may be root-bound and possibly harbor invasives, such as jumping worms.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Sep. 2025
  • How did invasives end up in residential areas?
    — Sophie Hartley, IndyStar, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Despite all of the containment efforts, the reach of the invasives continued to expand.
    — Joe Heim, Washington Post, 18 July 2024
  • Work is also underway to help native plants reestablish faster after fires, giving them a chance against invasives angling for the same open space.
    — Kylie Mohr, Vox, 8 Jan. 2025
  • As new multiflora and other invasives such as bush honeysuckle spread, a native oak sapling might struggle to rise above them.
    — Robert Sullivan, Curbed, 9 June 2025
  • Portions of the trail were overgrown with castor bean and other invasives, but some park workers or kind volunteers are doing their best to keep it clear enough to pass.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Also avoid porcelainberry, which is poisonous and a foreign invasive.
    — Ellen Nibali, baltimoresun.com, 19 Nov. 2020
  • Natives actually tend to do better after several years of drought, once invasives not adapted to the arid climate die out.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2026
  • These machines deliver high-pressure air through a mask (called non-invasive) or a tube down the airway or via a tracheostomy (called invasive).
    — Jordan Rau, NPR, 29 Nov. 2025
  • Broadley references the case of winter moth, an invasive imported from Europe that can decimate forests.
    — Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 4 July 2024
  • Removing these plants should also reduce tick problems while helping to safeguard local ecosystems from the effects of invasives.
    — Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 June 2026
  • Fires stripped away vegetation that once helped slow the water’s mountainside descent, so there’s been plenty of flooding to transport these invasives.
    — Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 20 May 2024
  • The arrival of new invasives across the board is probably kind of a new reality that is probably going to continue to get worse, not better.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 5 Aug. 2024
  • The event was intended to raise awareness for a variety of fish species, ranging from natives to invasives, found in Wisconsin waters.
    — Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Garden roses can also pick up the incurable rose rosette disease from wild-growing multiflora roses—an invasive rose with five-petaled, white flowers.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 May 2026
  • In areas that have been recently restored or are currently under restoration, the team has placed rodent-specific traps in an effort to control the invasives.
    — Anne Pinto-Rodrigues, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Sep. 2023
  • Human ignitions during fire season are also more common in Phoenix, spreading flames into invasives that carry fire across the landscape.
    — Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 7 June 2024
  • That describes any of the possibly 6 million feral hogs in the United States, the most intractable invasives that most people have never heard of.
    — Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2023
  • One invasive, the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), is of particular concern.
    — Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2022
  • From bamboo to bushes, invasives, environmentalists say, have wrapped their tendrils all across Maryland.
    — Dorothy Hood, Baltimore Sun, 5 May 2023
  • The future and climate change Florida’s warming climate benefits the invasives.
    — Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024
  • It's mostly populated by Goodding's willow, a native species, and creeping water primrose, a non-native invasive.
    — Emma Bowman, NPR, 17 Nov. 2025
  • Logging can also leave behind more combustible species like cheatgrass, an opportunistic invasive that thrives in disturbed areas and is near-impossible to eradicate.
    — Elizabeth Miller, Outside Online, 12 Jan. 2025
  • Volunteers help with removing invasives and restoring natural areas.
    — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2026
  • Despite the seemingly insurmountable task of treating the desert for invasives, Sinclair remains optimistic.
    — Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 7 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'invasive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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