foreign invasion
External military assault
Foreign invasion is the entry of a hostile military force into a country's territory.
The phrase emphasizes that the attacking force comes from outside—a distinction that matters when contrasting with domestic threats like civil war or insurrection: The country hadn't faced foreign invasion in centuries.
Politicians sometimes invoke foreign invasion metaphorically to describe immigration, framing arrivals as hostile rather than peaceful.
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- occupationOne's regular paid work
- occupied territoryLand under foreign military control
- enemyHostile opposing party
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
boots on the ground · borders · siege · air raids · resistance · fight back · homeland · home front · tanks · warfare · scorched earth · refugees · defending · surrender · puppet government · colonization · aggression · war crimes
- fallen empiresRoman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Empire, Soviet Union, British Empire
foreign invasioncivil war
Domestic armed conflict
internal conflict · insurrection · rebellion · revolution · coup d'état
foreign invasionnational defense
Protecting a country militarily
homeland defense · military retreat · liberation · defensive war · territorial defense
foreign invasionpeace
Freedom from disturbance
diplomatic relations · sovereignty · national security · peaceful coexistence · neutrality
foreign, invasion, foreigner, foreignness, invade, invader, invaders, invasive, invasiveness