meddling

American  

[med-ling] / ˈmɛd lɪŋ /

adjective

1. interfering or getting involved in a matter without any right or invitation.

   Comedic complications arise when a meddling friend attempts to rekindle the spark in the couple’s tired marriage.

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noun

1. the act or habit of interfering or getting involved in something without any right or invitation.

   The company will work independently, and there won't be any meddling by the government.

Other Word Forms

• meddlingly adverb
• unmeddling adjective
• unmeddlingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of meddling

First recorded in 1375–1425; meddle ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective; meddle ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun

Example Sentences

‘Project Hail Mary’ gets a soaring film adaptation, Steve Carell plays a meddling dad, Amanda Peet stars in an off-beat dramedy, and much, much more.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The sparks between them are obvious, and Appa, the soul of indiscretion, can’t help meddling in his overbearing way.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

It’s a near-catastrophic narrative oversight that, like a handful of other plot holes, reeks of studio meddling by Warner Bros. after early test screenings failed to meet expectations.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

But Hamilton’s belief that the Western Hemisphere should be closed to European meddling was memorialized in 1823’s Monroe Doctrine External link.

From Barron's • Jan. 18, 2026

This was considered an awkward interruption, disrupting as it did the critical debate over the assumption and residency questions with an inflammatory proposal that several southern representatives immediately denounced as mischievous meddling.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis