obtrude

/əbˈtɹuːd/

obtrude verb: to proffer (something) by force; to impose (something) on someone or into some area.

Verb

obtrude (third-person singular simple present obtrudes, present participle obtruding, simple past and past participle obtruded)

(transitive) To proffer (something) by force; to impose (something) on someone or into some area.
- By which we may see, that they who are not called to Counsell, can have no good Counsell in such cases to obtrude.1651, Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan
- It was unusual with Margaret to obtrude her own subject of conversation on others; but, in this case, she was so anxious to prevent Mr. Thornton from feeling annoyance at the words he had accidentally overheard, that it was not until she had done speaking that she coloured all over with...1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South
(intransitive) To become apparent in an unwelcome way, to be forcibly imposed; to jut in, to intrude (on or into).
- How you can bear such recollections, is astonishing to me!—They will sometimes obtrude—but how you can court them!1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume III, chapter 18
- Sometimes I dreamed strangely of disturbed earth, and of hair, still golden and living, obtruded through the coffin-chinks.1853, Charlotte Brontë, Villette
(reflexive) To impose (oneself) on others; to cut in.
- She obtruded herself upon the Queen; she protested her party views; she asked for petty favours, and attributed the refusals to the influence of Abigail.1934, Winston Churchill, Marlborough: His Life and Times, volume II
- This scarcity of knowledge also obtruded itself in 1998, when three scientists in Wales published a report called "What Sort of Men Take Garlic Preparations?"2004 January 13, Marc Abrahams, The Guardian

obtrude meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

obtrude in Hindi

reflexive: निकलवाना nikalvānā
transitive: निकालना nikālnā
intransitive: निकलाना niklānā

obtrude in Tamil

நுழை, புகு, புகுத்து

obtrude in Urdu

بن بلائے مہمان بننا, زبردستی گھسنا

obtrude in Bengali

জোর করে চাপিয়ে দেওয়া, অনাহূতভাবে উপস্থিত হওয়া

More languagesFewer languages

obtrude in Kannada: ಅಡ್ಡಹಾಕು, ನಡುವೆ ಮೂಗುತೂರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಬರು, ಮುನ್ನುಗ್ಗು, ನಿಯಮವನ್ನು ಉಲ್ಲಂಘಿಸು

Examples of obtrude in a sentence

It was unusual with Margaret to obtrude her own subject of conversation on others; but, in this case, she was so anxious to prevent Mr.1855, Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South:
Occasionally the thought obtruded itself that possibly at some later day Tarzan would regret his magnanimity, and claim his rights.1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 99:
It was not only the police but the palace which obtruded on a home secretary's life.1991, Roy Jenkins, A Life at the Centre:
In such a very chronological book, though, small anachronisms do obtrude.2010 August 7, Colin Greenland, The Guardian:

Forms of obtrude

third-person singular present	obtrudes
present participle	obtruding
past participle	obtruded
past	obtruded

Origin of obtrude

From Latin obtrūdō (“thrust off or against”), from ob- (“ob-”) + trūdō (“thrust”).

Words formed from obtrude

obtruder

Words that rhyme with obtrude

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about obtrude

What does obtrude mean?: Obtrude means to proffer (something) by force; to impose (something) on someone or into some area.
What is obtrude in Hindi?: Obtrude in Hindi is निकलवाना (nikalvānā), निकालना (nikālnā), निकलाना (niklānā). See Obtrude meaning in Hindi.
How do you use obtrude in a sentence?: It was unusual with Margaret to obtrude her own subject of conversation on others; but, in this case, she was so anxious to prevent Mr.
What part of speech is obtrude?: Obtrude is a verb.
How do you pronounce obtrude?: Obtrude is pronounced /əbˈtɹuːd/ (UK).
What is the past tense of obtrude?: The past tense of obtrude is obtruded.

Words near obtrude in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: obtrude (page history and authors); obtrude (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); obtrude (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); obtrude (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); obtrude (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-obtrude1.wav.

Cite this entry: “obtrude.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/obtrude. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.