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
No masterpiece arises unbidden and unprecedented from the mind of its creator, although popular mythology prefers this interpretation to the more complex reality.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
Getting a Doan's Bundt cake from Cruise unbidden reinforces the recipient’s high-level social status.
From Salon • May 7, 2024
A.I. isn’t pumping this weird stuff out unbidden.
From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2023
The thought pulled forth unbidden memories of Dimple—her sparkling, watchful eyes, her frown with the crease between her brows, her curly, wild hair.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
