INTERFERE

interfere

(verb) come between so as to be hindrance or obstacle; “Your talking interferes with my work!”

intervene, step in, interfere, interpose

(verb) get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force; “Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

interfere (third-person singular simple present interferes, present participle interfering, simple past and past participle interfered)

(intransitive) To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.

(intransitive, physics) (of waves) To be correlated with each other when overlapped or superposed.

(mostly of horses) To strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle in using the legs.

(intransitive, followed by "with") To sexually molest, especially of a child.

Source: Wiktionary


In`ter*fere", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Interfered; p. pr. & vb. n. Interfering.] Etym: [OF. entreferir to strike each other; entre between (L. inter) + OF. ferir to strike, F. férir, fr. L. ferire. See Ferula.]

1. To come in collision; to be in opposition; to clash; as, interfering claims, or commands.

2. To enter into, or take a part in, the concerns of others; to intermeddle; to interpose. To interfere with party disputes. Swift. There was no room for anyone to interfere with his own opinions. Bp. Warburton.

3. To strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle in using the legs; -- sometimes said of a human being, but usually of a horse; as, the horse interferes.

4. (Physics)

Definition: To act reciprocally, so as to augment, diminish, or otherwise affect one another; -- said of waves, rays of light, heat, etc. See Interference, 2.

5. (Patent Law)

Definition: To cover the same ground; to claim the same invention.

Syn.

– To interpose; intermeddle. See Interpose.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

3 May 2025

DESIRABLE

(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”


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Coffee Trivia

An article published in Harvard Men’s Health Watch in 2012 shows heavy coffee drinkers live longer. The researchers examined data from 400,000 people and found out that men who drank six or more coffee cups per day had a 10% lower death rate.

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