How to Use obtrusive in a Sentence

obtrusive

adjective
  • We used less obtrusive colors in the bedrooms.
  • The waiter was attentive without being obtrusive.
  • The new tags are solar-powered, are less obtrusive and, with luck, should last a year or more.
    — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Jan. 2024
  • And our test car had optional running boards that were obtrusive.
    — Connor Hoffman, Car and Driver, 15 Mar. 2022
  • Perhaps your school would have done better by being less obtrusive.
    — Miss Manners | Judith Martin, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Aug. 2023
  • The graphic is smaller and a bit less obtrusive than this secondary ribbon.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 30 Apr. 2021
  • The small and svelte piece of hardware should fit in well on most any desktop or nightstand without being obtrusive.
    — Corey Gaskin, Ars Technica, 29 Dec. 2020
  • The treadmill’s frame is spacious but not obtrusive and has a roomy belt that makes running comfortable.
    — Esther Bell, USA TODAY, 5 May 2021
  • Her true love follows, and the ensuing chase leads her to leap a hedge, fall to the ground, and smack the back of her head against an obtrusive rock.
    — ELLE, 2 Apr. 2022
  • An open-air design and color scheme that mimics the sky should help make the coaster feel less obtrusive, coastal planners said.
    — Lori Weisberg, sandiegouniontribune.com, 10 Aug. 2017
  • If the pileup is especially obtrusive, simply sweep them out of the way and let nature do the rest.
    — Celia Ford, WIRED, 28 Mar. 2024
  • But Hide’s Smart Socket is one of the most seamless, least obtrusive ways to do so.
    — Popular Mechanics Editors, Popular Mechanics, 9 Jan. 2020
  • The athletes don’t view the camera as obtrusive but something else entirely.
    — oregonlive, 15 Apr. 2022
  • Research shows that language is the first and most obtrusive impediment to finding work.
    — Katie Nielson, Quartz, 10 Jan. 2020
  • There’s a fine line between obtrusive service, with servers buzzing like flies around the table, and inattentive service.
    — Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Wind turbines can be obtrusive and impact natural life in the surrounding area.
    — Ahiza Garcia, CNN, 1 Oct. 2019
  • However, the design overall is fairly sleek and simple, with no obtrusive branding to spoil the look of your home.
    — Tanya Edwards, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2022
  • However, the design overall is fairly sleek and simple, with no obtrusive branding to spoil the look of your home.
    — Tanya Edwards, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Sep. 2022
  • To be fair, less obtrusive sensors that don’t have to be worn on the head will come to market over time, but capabilities like that are years away.
    — Mark Vena, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021
  • Any one of these characters, all gay men save for one obtrusive straight, could be committed on the basis of their existence.
    — Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 8 Aug. 2023
  • However, the project, now in its second year, also shows the value of monuments that are more obtrusive and durable.
    — Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 25 Apr. 2022
  • The columns that hold up the ceiling also support long tables, making their bulk seem less obtrusive and freeing up legroom at the same time.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 4 June 2021
  • This ensemble would have been able to do still more if their obtrusive body mics hadn’t been cranked so high, in a space that needs no amplification at all.
    — Mike Fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 Sep. 2017
  • The exceptional service is jovial and slick, but never obtrusive.
    — Rachel Bernhard, jsonline.com, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Solid-state lidars are likely to be less obtrusive in consumer products than spinning lidar that has to stick up from the roof of the car to work well.
    — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, 7 May 2018
  • Some dogs fear the big lens, in which case, Rodgers has a less-obtrusive compact camera with manual options on standby.
    — Jayme Moye, Outside Online, 27 June 2018
  • The gusset has a unique triangle shape that gives it solid coverage from front to back without being obtrusive.
    — Lacey Muinos, Health, 23 Jan. 2023
  • The big drawback is the fact that the machine is obtrusive, awkward, and decidedly unsexy.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2026
  • First up, the bezel on the 4G model appears to be slightly less obtrusive than that of the 5G model.
    — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 14 May 2021
  • The designers might also look for ways to make Fenner's rigging grow less rather than more obtrusive as the 90-minute show builds.
    — Tony Adler, Chicago Reader, 13 Mar. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obtrusive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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