unwelcome
Britishadjective
-
(of persons) not welcome
-
causing dissatisfaction or displeasure
Other Word Forms
Explanation
Things that are unwelcome are unpleasant or objectionable in some way. An unwelcome guest is one you didn't invite and you're not particularly happy to see. People are sometimes unwelcome, like your boring cousin who shows up unexpectedly for a long visit at the worst time. Things can also be unwelcome, like bad news or heckling from the audience during your stand-up comedy routine. Anything you don't wish for and don't appreciate can be described as unwelcome. Welcome has its roots in the Old English wilcuma, a friendly greeting and earlier "a welcome guest," from willa, "pleasure or choice," and cuma, "guest."
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.
Abrupt, unwelcome occurrences scar our autonomy and cripple our illusion of independence; the question of what went wrong falls on our shoulders, another loop to languish inside.
From Salon • May 30, 2026
The investigation has put an unwelcome spotlight on one of Spain’s wealthiest families, and on the relationship between one of the country’s most celebrated entrepreneurs and his son.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
Some may regard Salah's public intervention and criticism as unwelcome and unnecessary, but many Liverpool supporters will also welcome his words as the utterance of uncomfortable truths Slot has to face.
From BBC • May 16, 2026
“During that tumultuous period, we continued purchases in order to avoid a sharp, unwelcome tightening of financial conditions at a time when the economy still appeared to be highly vulnerable,” Powell said.
From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026
Looking back anxiously, he purchased the tickets for the theater and allowed his wife to draw him into the unwelcome darkness.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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.
