intrusive
Americanadjective
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tending or apt to intrude; coming without invitation or welcome.
intrusive memories of a lost love.
- Synonyms:
- disturbing, irritating, troublesome, worrisome, irksome, bothersome, annoying
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characterized by or involving intrusion.
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intruding; thrusting in.
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Geology.
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(of a rock) having been forced between preexisting rocks or rock layers while in a molten or plastic condition.
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noting or pertaining to plutonic rocks.
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Phonetics. excrescent.
adjective
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characterized by intrusion or tending to intrude
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(of igneous rocks) formed by intrusion Compare extrusive
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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
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intrusive
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at intrusion, -ive
Explanation
Something intrusive is getting in your face or invading your space. Nosey questions, a poke in the ribs, and a hovering mother are all intrusive. Things that are intrusive are a real pain in the neck: they intrude on you. If someone asks you a million questions, especially personal questions, that's intrusive behavior. When photographers hound celebrities, they're being intrusive. If a rock is sticking out and getting in people's way, then it's intrusive. All meanings of intrusive involve something being where it doesn't belong.
Vocabulary lists containing intrusive
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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One of Us Is Lying
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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.
Intrusive thoughts can be extremely distressing and often focus on topics that feel completely at odds with a person's values or identity.
From BBC • Jan. 27, 2026
Intrusive incidental music, a couple of truly absurd songs and a climax at Pinewood studios.
From The Guardian • May 8, 2020
Intrusive thoughts bounced around my skull like toxic earworms.
From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2020
One avenue is determining whether the magnetic field was diminished everywhere in the world at this time or if the phenomenon was localized around the Sept-Îles Intrusive Suite, she notes.
From Scientific American • Feb. 15, 2019
Intrusive rocks offer, as a rule, some contrasts in texture to contemporaneous masses.
From Geology by Geikie, James
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.
