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
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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.
Aesthetically, of course, they are least intrusive when the toilet is in a separate room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
He says the benefit of the current system is its simplicity which shouldn't be replaced with "something fiendishly complex and highly intrusive, which would take many decades to implement in full."
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
They experience heightened anxiety, panic attacks, intrusive memories, and difficulty concentrating in general.
From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026
But Hong Kong-based startup PointFit offers a less intrusive alternative using an adhesive patch, whose tiny sensor reads levels of biomarkers like glucose and cortisol from the sweat on users' skin.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
The letter was addressed to her grandmother; it seemed intrusive to read it.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
