Obtrusive means noticeable in an unwelcome way. Obtrusive advertising, an obtrusive repair, obtrusive security.
The negative is far commoner — unobtrusive is high praise for design, service and repair work alike, and it names the goal that obtrusive fails. The Latin means thrust against, which is what an obtrusive thing does to your attention.
1adjectiveobtrusiveNoticeable in an unwelcome way.
“The new phone mast is an obtrusive sight on the village skyline.”
obtrusive is a quality of prominence.
Latin obtrusus is the past participle of obtrudere, to thrust against — ob, against, plus trudere, to thrust. Intrude is a relative.
Proto-Indo-European
*trewd- — to push; to thrust
Latin
obtrūsus
English, today
obtrusive
Built from
From Latin obtrūsus + -ive. Obtrūsus is the perfect passive participle of obtrūdō, a variant of obstrūdō (“to push, shove, or thrust against or into”), from ob- + trūdō (“to push, shove, or thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European trewd- (“to push; to thrust”)).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA