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Synonyms

intrusive

American  
[in-troo-siv] / ɪnˈtru sɪv /

adjective

  1. tending or apt to intrude; coming without invitation or welcome.

    intrusive memories of a lost love.
    Synonyms:
    disturbing, irritating, troublesome, worrisome, irksome, bothersome, annoying

  2. characterized by or involving intrusion.

  3. intruding; thrusting in.

  4. Geology.

    1. (of a rock) having been forced between preexisting rocks or rock layers while in a molten or plastic condition.

    2. noting or pertaining to plutonic rocks.

  5. Phonetics. excrescent.

intrusive British  
/ ɪnˈtruːsɪv /

adjective

  1. characterized by intrusion or tending to intrude

  2. (of igneous rocks) formed by intrusion Compare extrusive

  3. phonetics relating to or denoting a speech sound that is introduced into a word or piece of connected speech for a phonetic rather than a historical or grammatical reason, such as the (r) often pronounced between idea and of in the idea of it

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • intrusively adverb
  • intrusiveness noun
  • nonintrusive adjective
  • nonintrusively adverb
  • unintrusive adjective
  • unintrusively adverb

Etymology

Origin of intrusive

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; intrusion, -ive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"He asked for my mobile phone and checked everything, even my photographs. It was extremely intrusive," she added.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

Classifying a patient as cured also allows them to avoid intrusive, and sometimes painful, screening tests, like bone marrow biopsies.

From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026

There are less intrusive ways to address the real concerns driving this regulatory rush.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Dawn said the meeting was "intrusive and re-traumatising", and that from the questions clearly the panel had no idea of her son's past experiences at the hospital.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Normally, Edward would have found intrusive, clingy behavior of this sort very annoying, but there was something about Sarah Ruth.

From "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" by Kate DiCamillo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.