Obtrude

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əbˈtɹuːd/

Definitions

1. To thrust oneself or something unwanted into a situation without invitation or welcome
2. To push forward obtrusively or make oneself annoyingly present where one is not desired
3. To force oneself or an unwanted thing into a place or situation where it is not invited

Etymology: Obtrude carries a physical image in its Latin parent, obtrūdere, which combined ob- ("against" or "toward") with trūdere, "to thrust." To obtrude was originally to push something forward or against, the way a hand shoves a door or a crowd presses toward a gap. The shove is still there in the modern sense: an obtrusive person or idea is one that pushes itself into a space where nobody asked for it. The English verb follows that Latin path closely. Its meaning moved from forcing a physical object into place to forcing an opinion, a feeling, or a person into a situation. The same root survives in "intrude," which took the Latin prefix in-, "into," instead of ob-. The two words are close relatives, and the difference between them is the direction of the thrust: intrude pushes inward through a barrier, while obtrude pushes against or in front of whatever is already there.

Synonyms: interfere, intrude, infringe, impose, interrupt

Antonyms: withdraw, remove, recede, exclude, separate