busybody

noun

ˈbi-zē-ˌbä-dē How to pronounce busybody (audio)
Definition of busybodynext
as in intruder
a person who meddles in the affairs of others that busybody across the street is always telling me how to tend to my own garden

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of busybody Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman starred, with Ives and Madeleine Sherwood, as Brick’s busybody sister-in-law, reprising their stage roles. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 21 Apr. 2026 A number of presences, including Hunter Schafer‘s busybody assistant and Kaia Gerber’s entourage hanger-on, flit about on the periphery while the leads conversationally duke it out. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 14 Apr. 2026 Claire was initially surprised that this busybody had assumed the role of her official helper without an invitation. — Lincee Ray, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Mar. 2026 But Julie seems a victim here of Hedda’s artillery rather than a busybody relative anxious to extend the family line. — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for busybody
Recent Examples of Synonyms for busybody
  1. intruder
  2. gossiper
  3. meddler
  4. spy
  5. interloper
  6. buttinsky
Noun
  • Emergency teams who searched the airport grounds didn't find the vehicle or any intruder on site, the agency reported.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Still, Inglis cautions against assumptions that AI necessarily makes an organization more vulnerable to outside intruders.
    — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of intruder
Noun
  • Celebrity gossiper Rob Shuter reported that the two recently let go of a number of their staff.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Her staff figured out how to get rid of the gossiper.
    — Ronda Racha Penrice, HollywoodReporter, 10 Aug. 2025
Definition of gossiper
Noun
  • Nelly herself is heavily reinterpreted by Fennell, imagined in this film as the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat who serves as Cathy’s maid; the film also runs with modern readings of her character as a more proactive meddler in the doomed love between the main characters.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 Feb. 2026
  • The factory owners called her a meddler and insisted that the cost of protecting workers would destroy American industry.
    — Michelle A. Williams, STAT, 2 Feb. 2026
Definition of meddler
Noun
  • Directed by Grammy Award-winning filmmaker James Mackel, the visual is three-and-a-half minutes of spy stuff, our hero, dressed to impress, making short work of the many villains who lurk in her hotel.
    — Lars Brandle, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control section, which prosecutes spies, is assisting the DOJ in the case.
    — Benjamin Guggenheim, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of spy
Noun
  • In other words, not one sleek, contemporary interloper to be found.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But Bernardez eventually earned acceptance by establishing himself as someone who was committed to the neighborhood, not an interloper.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of interloper
Noun
  • Rather, the story is set in motion by Kevin O’Neill (Rick Holmes), a private-equity manager and arrogant buttinsky who takes an interest in Cara.
    — Jesse Green, New York Times, 6 June 2018
Definition of buttinsky

Browse Nearby Words

busybodies
busybody
busying
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Cite this Entry

“Busybody.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/busybody. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

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