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unwelcome guest

unwelcome guest

2 3.8
A person who comes to an event without being invited or wanted
  • noun
translation icon : invitado no deseado
  • So it is time we let the media know that Trump is an unwelcome guest in our homes, a liability, not an asset, and a 24-carat jerk.

Examples

  • Yeah, we got an unwelcome guest -by building Bravo Foxtrot Charlie.

  • To allow for a clear discussion of the phenomenon in that region, it would perhaps be helpful to begin with a brief synopsis of the ways in which scholars have attempted to come to terms with this somewhat unwelcome guest.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Which means I'm obliged to ask more questions at the risk, I know, of making myself a very unwelcome guest.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • He was an unwelcome guest.

  • Not only had the cancer, the unwelcome guest, returned, it returned with a vengeance.

    Blog text (26)
  • Every ghost story Diana had ever read invaded her mind like ugly, unwelcome guests.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • An unwelcome guest.

  • The bad news: the scan revealed an unwelcome guest, a tumor located in the right frontal lobe of his brain.

    Blog text (26)
  • "She walked past him stiffly, out into the broad hallway, and stood still, no longer knowing where she could go in this p122 house, where she could feel safe, not like an intruder, an unwelcome guest who had lingered beyond decency.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • During the party, he felt like an unwelcome guest when no one talked to him.

Synonyms

intruder
vsunwelcome guest
240 3.9

A person who enters a place without permission to steal or harm people

describes attending events uninvited rather than illegal or forced entry
crasher
vsunwelcome guest
  • Informal
25 7.5

A person who goes to a party without an invitation or payment

emphasizes unwanted attendance at events rather than only unpaid entry
interloper
vsunwelcome guest
17 8.9

A person who goes into a place or situation where they are not wanted

focuses more narrowly on showing up at events without invite or pay
persona non grata
vsunwelcome guest
  • Formal
11 9.4

A person who is not welcome in a place, often for official reasons

is informal and describes unwanted attendance rather than formal exclusion
party crasher
vsunwelcome guest
  • Informal
7 7.0

A person who goes to a party without being invited and often causes trouble

is about attending without permission, not necessarily causing trouble
gatecrasher
vsunwelcome guest
  • Informal
1 7.2

A person who goes to an event without being invited or paying

is the broader label for someone who attends without permission
unwelcome person
vsunwelcome guest
5.2

A person who is not wanted in a place or group

is specifically about attending events without permission or payment

Antonyms

3 3.3

A person who is asked to come to an event as a guest

How Welcome

guest of honor
  • Formal
34 3.5
invitee
3 3.3
unwelcome guest
2 3.8
party crasher
  • Informal
7 7.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

unwelcome + guest

The meaning is directly compositional: 'unwelcome' (not received with pleasure) modifies 'guest' (a person who is invited or hosted), so an average B1 learner who knows both words can infer someone present but not wanted or invited. This literal, cross-linguistically common pattern makes the phrase immediately understandable from its constituents.

Etymology

The noun unwelcome guest gives a simple image: a guest who is unwelcome, someone who slips into a party without an invitation and people want them to leave. So it means 'a person who comes without permission or who is not wanted'.