obtrusive

English

WOTD – 11 September 2023

Etymology

PIE word
*h₁epi

From Latin obtrūsus + English -ive (suffix meaning ‘of the nature of’, forming adjectives). Obtrūsus is the perfect passive participle of obtrūdō,^[1] a variant of obstrūdō (“to push, shove, or thrust against or into”), from ob- (prefix meaning ‘against; towards’) + trūdō (“to push, shove, or thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to push; to thrust”)).

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əbˈtɹuːsɪv/, /ɒb-/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /əbˈtɹusɪv/, /ɑb-/
Rhymes: -uːsɪv
Hyphenation: ob‧trus‧ive

Adjective

obtrusive (comparative more obtrusive, superlative most obtrusive)

(figurative)
1. Of a person: overly assertive, bold, or domineering; pushy; also, ostentatious.
  Synonyms: intrusive, overassertive, overbearing, sharp-elbowed; see also Thesaurus:bossy
  
  Antonyms: inobtrusive, nonobtrusive, unobtrusive
  
  The office manager is an unpleasantly obtrusive individual.
  - 1667, John Milton, “Book VII”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 1139–1142:
    Her vertue and the conſcience of her worth, / That would be woo'd, and not unfought be won, / Not obvious, not obtruſive, but retir'd, / The more deſirable, […]
2. Of a thing: noticeable or prominent, especially in a displeasing way.
  Synonyms: in-your-face, ostentatious
  
  Antonyms: inobtrusive, nonobtrusive, unobtrusive
  
  He has an obtrusive forehead.
  - 1914 September – 1915 May, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Bodymaster”, in The Valley of Fear: A Sherlock Holmes Novel, New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 27 February 1915, →OCLC, part II (The Scowrers), pages 194–195:
    Thus it was that, year by year, Boss McGinty's diamond pins became more obtrusive, his gold chains more weighty across a more gorgeous vest, and his saloon stretched farther and farther, until it threatened to absorb one whole side of the Market Square.
  - 1933 September, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Melodramatic Interlude”, in The Shape of Things to Come, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, 4th book (The Modern State Militant), page 338:
    But there was a third principal in this primitive drama, the wife of Essenden, a woman of great energy, great possessiveness and obtrusive helpfulness.
(obsolete) Protruding or sticking out, especially in a way that obstructs.
Synonyms: bulging, jutting

Antonyms: inobtrusive, nonobtrusive, unobtrusive

The facade of the building was ornamented with obtrusive sculpted designs.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

of a person: overly assertive, bold, or domineering — see also pushy

Bulgarian: натрапчив (bg) (natrapčiv)
Finnish: tunkeileva (fi), tyrkyttävä (fi)
Georgian: მოურიდებელი (mouridebeli)
German: aufdringlich (de), penetrant (de)
Italian: invadente (it), importuno (it), indiscreto (it)
Macedonian: на́метлив (námetliv), на́стојчив (nástojčiv)
Polish: nachalny (pl)

ostentatious — see ostentatious

of a thing: noticeable or prominent, especially in a displeasing way

Finnish: esiinpistävä
Georgian: თვალშისაცემი (tvalšisacemi), შესამჩნევი (šesamčnevi)
German: auffällig (de), (negativ) wahrnehmbar
Italian: sporgente (it)
Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
Spanish: obtrusivo m, obtruso m

References

^ Compare “obtrusive, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “obtrusive, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Italian

Adjective

obtrusive

feminine plural of obtrusivo

[1] Compare “obtrusive, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “obtrusive, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

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