to obtrude upon - Glite Dictionary

Examples

She disliked colleagues who would obtrude upon her workspace without asking.
It is rude to obtrude upon people’s private conversations without invitation.
Modern advertisements often obtrude upon our online experiences in unpleasant ways.
She always obtrudes upon my personal life!
She felt uninvited when her noisy neighbors seemed to obtrude upon her peaceful evening at home.
I didn't want to obtrude upon their conversation, so I quietly waited for my turn to speak.
It's rude to obtrude upon someone else's personal space without their permission.

Synonyms

to intrude

vsto obtrude upon

105 4.4

To go into a place or conversation where you are not welcome

is used for forcing into attention or personal affairs rather than places

to invade

vsto obtrude upon

77 4.1

To enter someone's space or private life without permission

is about a person pushing into someone's space or attention directly

to encroach

vsto obtrude upon

27 7.3

To gradually move into someone else's area, space, or rights without permission

is about actively forcing oneself in, not slow boundary crossing

to intrude on

vsto obtrude upon

22 4.6

To go into someone's space or life without permission

is more forceful, implying pushing into attention or others' affairs

to encroach upon

vsto obtrude upon

2 6.8

To gradually move into someone's personal space, rights or privacy

is sudden or forceful rather than slow or gradual

to poke one's nose into

vsto obtrude upon

Informal

1 7.3

To try to take part in other people's business without being asked

is a neutral term for forceful, unwelcome entry into someone's life

to stick your nose into

vsto obtrude upon

Informal

1 8.0

To get involved in other people's business when not wanted

is a more formal, general phrase for forcing into another's space

to obtrude

vsto obtrude upon

1 9.1

Push yourself into a place or conversation when people do not want you

is the same meaning but often used with the preposition upon for emphasis

Antonyms

to leave alone

∞ 2.3

To avoid touching and disturbing a person, animal or object

How Intrusive

to barge in

Informal

59 5.5

to obtrude upon

8.7

to intrude on

22 4.6

to encroach

27 7.3

Surface Forms

obtrude upon infinitive

obtruded upon past

obtruded upon past participle

obtruding upon present participle

obtrudes upon third person singular

Morphology

obtrude + upon

The meaning 'to force oneself uninvited into someone else's space or attention' is directly derivable from combining 'obtrude' (to thrust or force in) with the preposition 'upon' (onto/into). This follows a standard verb+preposition compositional pattern and has clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who already knows both constituents would be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Obtrude upon comes from a simple image of someone pushing themselves forward into another person's space or conversation. The verb obtrude, which means to push forward, and upon, which points to the other person, show why the phrase means 'to force yourself into someone else's space or attention'.