intrude
Americanverb (used with object)
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to thrust or bring in without invitation, permission, or welcome.
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Geology. to thrust or force into.
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to install (a cleric) in a church contrary to the wishes of its members.
verb (used without object)
verb
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to put forward or interpose (oneself, one's views, something) abruptly or without invitation
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geology to force or thrust (rock material, esp molten magma) or (of rock material) to be thrust between solid rocks
Synonym Usage
See trespass.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intrudernoun
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self-intrudernoun
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unintrudedadjective
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unintrudingadjective
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intrudinglyadverb
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unintrudinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intrudesimple
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intrudessimple
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have intrudedperfect
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has intrudedperfect
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am intrudingprogressive
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are intrudingprogressive
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is intrudingprogressive
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have been intrudingperfect progressive
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has been intrudingperfect progressive
Past
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intrudedsimple
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had intrudedperfect
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was intrudingprogressive
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were intrudingprogressive
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had been intrudingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intrude
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin intrūdere “to push in,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + trūdere “to push”
Explanation
When someone says, “I hate to intrude, but…” you can bet she is in fact going to interrupt your conversation or insert her opinion, even though it isn’t wanted. House burglars also intrude, but they don’t usually announce it first. People can intrude in different ways, but it is usually uninvited and also unwelcome. This verb is derived from the Latin, intrudere, in which the in- means “into” and -trudere means, “to thrust.” So people can in intrude by thrusting or forcing themselves into your private life, your personal body space, or your home. Loud music could intrude into your studying. A memory could intrude while you are trying to focus on texting a message.
Vocabulary lists containing intrude
Unit 2: Pivotal Words and Phrases
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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.
See Examples For:
"The court does not intrude on parliament by ensuring parliament can sit," the judgement said.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
In the past, the court has said the 4th Amendment protects against government searches that intrude upon a “reasonable expectation of privacy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
In Wen's trial on Monday, the court heard he had attempted to intrude on the movie premiere twice, Singaporean media reports.
From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025
Woodward decision established clear limits on state power to intrude on private corporations, strengthening corporate rights and autonomy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2025
This is the heart of Gilead, where the war cannot intrude except on television.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
Anderson plays the children's mother, whose presence intrudes into the family's lives despite her apparently having been killed by wolves.
From Barron's ● Feb. 14, 2026
Modern observations show that parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet -- such as the Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers -- are already retreating rapidly as warm deep water intrudes beneath them.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2025
They are living ghosts, traumatized survivors of a school shooting that occurred 10 years earlier, but the memory of which intrudes like an unwelcome guest on a wedding celebration taking place in the present.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
No wit or humanity, or even any genuine horror, intrudes on the mechanical chases, the plastic plot twists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2023
Mostly the kids here don’t seem to notice anything unless it intrudes on their idea of personal space.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
This signal confirmed that magma had intruded beneath the volcano.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 15, 2026
It alleged the Easy Switch tool intruded into AT&T’s computer systems and violated its terms of service “to harvest private customer account information and AT&T business information.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 14, 2025
But one way is, has it intruded upon your imagination?
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2024
But before she got too carried away, reality intruded.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024
The girl who’d intruded on her sanctuary looked to be about thirteen, like Akira.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
The way everyone responded to this error—by turning a simple mistake into a ritual flogging—only bolsters the toxic notion that the press is forever viciously intruding on the secret, sacred work of perfect jurists.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
The characters in her novels long for stability in landscapes where the past is forever intruding on the present—they teeter on the shifting border between perception and fact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
This includes not putting people under undue pressure to donate and not unreasonably intruding on their privacy.
From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026
There are so many negatives intruding that investors would be lucky to escape the coming year in one piece.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding....
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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.
