interfere
Americanverb (used without object)
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interferes,
present (3rd person singular)
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interfered,
past participle, past
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interfering
present participle
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to come into opposition, as one thing with another, especially with the effect of hampering action or procedure (often followed bywith ).
Constant distractions interfere with work.
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to take part in the affairs of others; meddle (often followed by with orin ).
to interfere in another's life.
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(of things) to strike against each other, or one against another, so as to hamper or hinder action; come into physical collision.
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to interpose or intervene for a particular purpose.
- Synonyms:
- intercede
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to strike one foot or leg against another in moving, as a horse.
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Sports.
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to obstruct the action of an opposing player in a way barred by the rules.
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Football. to run interference for a teammate carrying the ball.
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Physics. to cause interference.
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to clash; come in collision; be in opposition.
The claims of two nations may interfere.
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Law. to claim earlier invention when several patent requests for the same invention are being filed.
verb phrase
verb
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(often foll by in) to interpose, esp meddlesomely or unwarrantedly; intervene
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(often foll by with) to come between or in opposition; hinder; obstruct
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euphemistic (foll by with) to assault sexually
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to strike one against the other, as a horse's legs
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physics to cause or produce interference
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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interferernoun
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interferingadjective
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noninterferingadjective
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interferinglyadverb
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noninterferinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interferesimple
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interferessimple
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have interferedperfect
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has interferedperfect
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am interferingprogressive
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are interferingprogressive
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is interferingprogressive
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have been interferingperfect progressive
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has been interferingperfect progressive
Past
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interferedsimple
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had interferedperfect
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was interferingprogressive
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were interferingprogressive
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had been interferingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interfere
First recorded in 1520–30; inter- + -fere (from Latin ferīre “to strike”); modeled on Middle French s'entreferir
Explanation
To interfere is to try to stop something from happening. If you get into a fight on the street, people passing by might try to interfere so no one gets hurt. Many countries resent it when other countries interfere (get involved) in their internal affairs, just as people often dislike it when others interfere in their personal affairs. In this sense interfere is the opposite of minding one's business. On airplanes you're not allowed to use cellphones because, it's said, they interfere with the plane’s navigational systems.
Vocabulary lists containing interfere
Power Prefix: inter-
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"Fears and Phobias," Vocabulary from the article
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But Slavin said his dismissal came in a climate where the Pentagon had not had a press conference since May, and where journalists had refused attempts to interfere with their reporting.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Obesity can interfere with immune function, making it more difficult for the body to respond effectively to tumors.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
SpaceX in January secured a separate FCC waiver aimed at ensuring satellites stationed closer to Earth wouldn’t interfere with those operating much farther away.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court the project is already 65% complete and argued that stopping construction would interfere with security improvements at the White House.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
“She seems just a little bit stiff,” I said, after a moment or two, “perhaps she thought I was going to interfere with the running of the house.”
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
And both have their reasons for rejecting science that interferes with their own interests.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2026
If investors conclude for themselves that having a high concentration of individual stocks interferes with their goals, they might forgo this approach.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
If the weather interferes with your chances of seeing the Strawberry Moon tonight, do not worry as there are more opportunities to see full Moons this summer.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
They said that caffeine could affect the results, and gel interferes with the electrodes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
“It interferes with being nuts. Just concentrate on moving that Celestial bronze. Echo, you ready?”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
But the new plan, issued in 2021, favored the ranchers, extending them 20-year leases, and allowed for the killing of elk if they interfered with cattle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Those green ecosystems are far different from California’s; our neighbor’s fires generally arise in massive boreal forests, which do not have debris or brush concerns because they’ve never been logged or otherwise interfered with.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
A median of 75% felt that the US interfered in the affairs of other countries a great deal or a fair amount, while 45% said the same of China.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
When those abnormal forms appeared after memories had already formed, they interfered with the brain's ability to retrieve them.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
But if he interfered, they might just proclaim Cain the victor.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
The veteran manager said that his former boss became increasingly interfering during his first spell at the club, including pushing for the signing of Andriy Shevchenko.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
"That suggests it may one day be possible to target the side-effects without interfering with the cardiovascular benefits that make statins so valuable."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
This past weekend’s “CBS Sunday Morning” featured a segment from national security correspondent David Martin about the Department of Defense interfering with the editorial independence of Stars & Stripes, the military newspaper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
In a novel full of insufferable characters interfering with romantic soulmates, Mary commits the sins of both pedantry and priggishness.
From Salon ● Jun. 25, 2026
Margaret Diamondstein, formerly Draper, was an interfering person.
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
