unbidden
Americanadjective
-
not ordered or commanded; spontaneous.
-
not asked or summoned; uninvited.
adjective
-
not ordered or commanded; voluntary or spontaneous
-
not invited or asked
Etymology
Origin of unbidden
before 1050; Middle English unbiden, Old English unbēden. See un- 1, bidden
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.
Images from that novel come to me unbidden when I’m alone making ramen, leaning into a cold wind or calming down my hypervigilant Doberman mutt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
Her focus is the life stage she dubs “the Final Fifth” that begins at age 80, and her subject is the unbidden changes—physical, social, even existential—those years can bring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
Lyrical scraps would flash unbidden, like hallucinations, in the decades to follow.
From New York Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
"Those with the syndrome experience frequent unbidden intrusive memories of the traumatic event."
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2023
Then looking around he caught sight of the strangers, and cried out in a dreadful booming voice, “Who are you who enter unbidden the house of Polyphemus? Traders or thieving pirates?”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
