Unwelcome Meaning
/əˈnwɛlkəm/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjNot welcome.
verbTo treat as unwelcome.
Sentence Examples
Foreigners often feel unwelcome here.
Grr! Avoid not, unwelcome evil and cowardly beast!
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ noise from the party kept me awake all night long.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The news of the delay was an ____ surprise for the team, as they were already working on a very tight schedule today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English unwelcome, unwelcum; equivalent to un- + welcome.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This ſtraunge vnwelcome and vnhappie newes,
Of theſe vnnaturall Rebels and vniust,
That threaten wracke vnto this wretched Land,
Aye me affrights my womans mazed minde,
Burdens my heart, and interrupts my ſleepe, […]"
— 1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw […], →OCLC, Act I:
"Gynecomastia is estimated to affect anywhere from 30 to 70 per cent of males at some stage of their lives. And "gyne" or "gyno", as it's commonly known, is not only an unwelcome (and ironic) side-effect of anabolic-androgenic - that is, muscle-building and masculinising - steroids: it can also be caused by other hormonal disruptors such as alcohol, cigarettes, cannabis, obesity, puberty (usually temporarily) and old age. But [Tom] Powell says his gyno was "99 percent" likely due to steroids."
— 2022 June 28, Jamie Millar, “'SARM Goblins': The Young Men Hooked on Steroids”, in VICE, archived from the original on 07 Nov 2023:
"For companies such as Trans Pennine Express, it will be even harder. It has the unwelcome claim to being Britain's worst train operator, with recent statistics from the Office of Rail and Road showing it cancelled nearly a quarter of its services in February, with lack of available train crew a real problem."
— 2023 April 5, Philip Haigh, “Comment: Pay deal a positive result”, in RAIL, number 980, page 3:
"“I know this is unwelcome news,” Ms. Gale, the chief people officer, wrote in the memo. “But we feel this is the best path forward, given the circumstances.”"
— 2026 April 23, Mike Isaac, Eli Tan, “Meta to Lay Off 10 Percent of Work Force in A.I. Push”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
"Devils and angels stood side by side on one platform to unwelcome him."
— 1992, Selections from National Press, page 92:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ noise from the party kept me awake all night long.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The news of the delay was an ____ surprise for the team, as they were already working on a very tight schedule today.