interplay

American  

[in-ter-play, in-ter-play, in-ter-play] / ˈɪn tərˌpleɪ, ˌɪn tərˈpleɪ, ˈɪn tərˌpleɪ /

noun

• interplays
  plural

1. reciprocal relationship, action, or influence.

   the interplay of plot and character.

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verb (used without object)

1. to exert influence on each other.

interplay British  

/ ˈɪntəˌpleɪ /

noun

1. reciprocal and mutual action and reaction, as in circumstances, events, or personal relations

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• interplays
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of interplay

First recorded in 1860–65; inter- + play

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Explanation

Interplay is a kind of back-and-forth interaction in which each side affects the other. A beautiful piece of music has the perfect interplay between melody, rhythm, and harmony. You can think of interplay as if you're watching an actual play on a stage: the way two characters communicate, whether they're cooperating or clashing with each other, is a kind of interplay. This word is often used in a less concrete way, so you might hear a sociologist talk about the interplay between race and class or a film critic discuss the interplay between violence and comedy in a movie.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

interplay interplays

Juice will monitor Jupiter's complex magnetic, radiation and plasma environment in depth and its interplay with the moons, studying the Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giant systems across the Universe.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2026

In “The Age of Cures,” Barry Werth uses Tishler’s career at Merck to explore the emergence of the modern U.S. pharmaceutical industry and the complex interplay of companies, universities, governments and scientists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

His latest book examines leaders in government, business and other fields to determine how the interplay of personal talent and historical circumstance shapes success or failure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The two leads share an easy interplay, giving generous performances that allow the other to shine in a comedy that wears its message about tolerance and nuance lightly.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Therefore, there is very little room for the interplay of the Laws, and my one method of attack is virtually useless.

From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov

"The goal is eventually to even study the interplays of different signaling pathways simultaneously."

From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2024

Chiuri’s interplays of architectural silhouettes and innovative materials were out in force for a diverse collection that had a lot to say, seamlessly intertwining historical richness with the contemporary.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2024

The design reflects the traditional hand-crafted bowls found across the Arab and Islamic world while interplays of light mirror the fanar lanterns of the region.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2022

At the top end of this scale is Oliver Sacks’s “Musicophilia,” a dream-like chain of literary narratives about remarkable interplays between music and the human brain.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 3, 2016

There are subtle interplays of delicate forces and reactions from environment which no one can measure.

From Our Foreigners A Chronicle of Americans in the Making by Samuel Peter Orth

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Related Words

• give-and-take

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