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invite

[verb in-vahyt; noun in-vahyt]
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verb (used with object), in·vit·ed, in·vit·ing.
  1. to request the presence or participation of in a kindly, courteous, or complimentary way, especially to request to come or go to some place, gathering, entertainment, etc., or to do something: to invite friends to dinner.
  2. to request politely or formally: to invite donations.
  3. to act so as to bring on or render probable: to invite accidents by fast driving.
  4. to call forth or give occasion for: Those big shoes invite laughter.
  5. to attract, allure, entice, or tempt.
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verb (used without object), in·vit·ed, in·vit·ing.
  1. to give invitation; offer attractions or allurements.
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noun
  1. Informal. an invitation.
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Origin of invite

First recorded in 1525–35, invite is from the Latin word invītāre
Related formsin·vi·tee [in-vi-tee, -vahy-] /ˌɪn vɪˈti, -vaɪ-/, nounin·vit·er, in·vi·tor, nounpre·in·vite, verb (used with object), pre·in·vit·ed, pre·in·vit·ing.qua·si-in·vit·ed, adjectivere·in·vite, verb, re·in·vit·ed, re·in·vit·ing.self-in·vit·ed, adjectiveun·in·vit·ed, adjective

Synonyms

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1. bid. 2. solicit. 5. lure, draw.

Synonym study

1. See call.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for uninvited

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • But the newest visitor did not come, like the others, uninvited into the "private" room.

    Shavings

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • Many of those who joined in it, uninvited, we did not even know.

    My Reminiscences

    Rabindranath Tagore

  • It was the uninvited visitor whom he had met in the plantation.

    The Green Rust

    Edgar Wallace

  • Then quite privately and uninvited, Jemmy Three began to think.

    Judith Lynn

    Annie Hamilton Donnell

  • All these cogitations because a woman had entered his life 223 uninvited!

    The Pagan Madonna

    Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for uninvited

uninvited

adjective
  1. not having been inviteduninvited guests
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invite

verb (ɪnˈvaɪt) (tr)
  1. to ask (a person or persons) in a friendly or polite way (to do something, attend an event, etc)he invited them to dinner
  2. to make a request for, esp publicly or formallyto invite applications
  3. to bring on or provoke; give occasion foryou invite disaster by your actions
  4. to welcome or tempt
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noun (ˈɪnvaɪt)
  1. an informal word for invitation
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Derived Formsinviter, noun

Word Origin

C16: from Latin invītāre to invite, entertain, from in- ² + -vītāre, probably related to Greek hiesthai to be desirous of
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

Word Origin and History for uninvited

adj.

1630s, from un- (1) "not" + past participle of invite (v.).

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invite

v.

1530s, a back-formation from invitation, or else from Middle French inviter (5c.), from Latin invitare. As a noun variant of invitation it is attested from 1650s. Related: Invited; inviting.

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invite

n.

1650s, from invite (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper