intrusive

[ in-troo-siv ]
See synonyms for: intrusiveintrusiveness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. tending or apt to intrude; coming without invitation or welcome: intrusive memories of a lost love.

  2. characterized by or involving intrusion.

  1. intruding; thrusting in.

  2. Geology.

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

    • noting or pertaining to plutonic rocks.

  3. Phonetics. excrescent (def. 2).

Origin of intrusive

1
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at intrusion, -ive

Other words for intrusive

Other words from intrusive

  • in·tru·sive·ly, adverb
  • in·tru·sive·ness, noun
  • non·in·tru·sive, adjective
  • non·in·tru·sive·ly, adverb
  • un·in·tru·sive, adjective
  • un·in·tru·sive·ly, adverb

Words Nearby intrusive

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use intrusive in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for intrusive

intrusive

/ (ɪnˈtruːsɪv) /


adjective
  1. characterized by intrusion or tending to intrude

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

  1. 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

Derived forms of intrusive

  • intrusively, adverb
  • intrusiveness, noun

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