Meaning & use
intrusive questions
Last updated
Meaning
phraseplural
Questions that ask about someone's private life in a way that feels rude or unwelcome.
Grammar: Use plural verbs with the plural form: Intrusive questions are annoying. For one question, say 'an intrusive question'.
Patterns
- ask intrusive questions
- avoid intrusive questions
- intrusive questions about something
At family gatherings, my aunt always asks intrusive questions about my salary.
The journalist was criticized for asking intrusive questions about the victim's past.
I don't mind talking about work, but intrusive questions about my divorce make me uncomfortable.
Word forms
| singular | intrusive question |
|---|
Common combinations
- ask intrusive questions
- Reporters sometimes ask intrusive questions that upset the family.
- intrusive questions about someone's private life
- She refused to answer intrusive questions about her private life.
- feel like an intrusive question
- Asking how much someone earns can feel like an intrusive question.
Synonyms and how they differ
- prying questions
- Similar but suggests someone is trying too hard to find out private details; 'intrusive' focuses on the unwanted invasion of privacy.
- personal questions
- Neutral and not necessarily rude; 'intrusive questions' are personal questions that cross a line.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: intrusive questions or intrusive thoughts?
intrusive questions vs intrusive thoughts
Unwanted thoughts that pop into your mind, often in psychology; 'intrusive questions' are questions asked by someone else.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'intrusive questions' correctly?
Choose one answer.
We ask questions 'about' a topic. The other prepositions do not fit the meaning 'on the subject of'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intrusive questions”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.