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I'm trying to think of a word for someone who injects themselves into conversations. Typically in an uninvited manner.

You know the guy that comes over when you're talking to someone else and stands around until he can join the conversation.

Nosy isn't quite right.

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  • All the answers seem rather negative, but I know there are plenty of situations where this is acceptable, normal, or even the only way to join a group. Unless you're talking about someone who does it too much, in which case, carry on. :)
    – AlbeyAmakiir
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 22:27
  • imposing? "take advantage of someone by demanding their attention or commitment."
    – user99677
    Commented Nov 13, 2017 at 16:25

9 Answers 9

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The word meddlesome would fit your description

Person who intervenes officiously or indiscreetly in the affairs of others is meddlesome.

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  • @JasonMcCreary I'm pretty certain "busybody" is more natural than "meddler" when you're talking about someone jumping in to conversations. Meddlesome carries a more serious connotation.
    – starwed
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:32
  • Perhaps, but the OED gives meddlesome only as an adjective, so you can't say someone is a meddlesome.
    – Barrie England
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:34
  • I want the connotation. busybody doesn't carry enough. The fact that most other suggestions contain meddle in the definition, implies that meddle is at the core of my question.
    – Jason McCreary
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:37
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Buttinsky works pretty well, and also just sounds amusing. :)

As mentioned in other answers, busybody is good, nosy parker works but might not be as universally recognized. (I've never heard it in the US.)

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  • + buttinsky, funny.
    – Jason McCreary
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:31
  • 3
    +1. The OED has an entry for buttinsky, which it describes as ‘slang, originally US’. One of the citations is from P G Wodehouse, who spells it buttinski.
    – Barrie England
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:36
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I would say Busybody. A busybody is someone who repeatedly gets into other peoples affairs, and that would apply to someone who is constantly going into other people's conversations.

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  • But this isn't quite the person described in the OP's question, is it?
    – WS2
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:41
  • Technically, by extension, it is. But if he wants the clear and simple answer, meddlesome is perfect.
    – Jonathan Spirit
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:52
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    I tend to think of a 'busybody' as a person who goes out of their way to involve themselves in someone's affairs under the pretext of trying to help them. That seems to me far more than we have here, namely someone who butts in uninvited into other people's conversations (perhaps ignoring body-language signs that he is not wanted). My proposed answer below, is 'socially imposing'.
    – WS2
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 20:08
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Someone who butts in on a conversation is a nosy parker or a stickybeak.

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  • nosy isn't quite right. stickybeak is better though.
    – Jason McCreary
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:27
  • @JasonMcCreary Nosy parker is a phrase disinct from just nosy, and it carries pretty much the same meaning as stickybeak. (Beak as in nose!)
    – starwed
    Commented Nov 11, 2013 at 19:28
3

How about an interjector?

I know it sounds like some kind of robot warrior, but literally it means:

Someone who interrupts

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Interfering My ex-mother-in-law was a prime example. She never minded her own business, always butted in conversations, and gave her unsolicited opinion on everything.

Interfering; 3. To intervene or intrude in the affairs of others; meddle.

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1

Try officious — that might be what you're going for. Butting in and offering help where it's not wanted, etc.

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1

How about interloper?

a person who becomes involved in a place or situation where they are not wanted or are considered not to belong.

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0

I can't think of a single word, but if you can cope with two, I would venture 'socially imposing' as the most apt description.

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