interfere

verb

1. 1

   To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.

   I always try not to interfere with other people’s personal affairs.

   I’ve known ere now an interfering branch / Of alder catch my lifted axe behind me. / But that was in the woods, to hold my hand / From striking at another alder’s roots, / And that was, as I say, an alder branch.

2. 2

   Of waves, to be correlated with each other when overlapped or superposed.

   Correlated waves interfere to produce interesting patterns, while uncorrelated waves overlap without interfering.

   Where the radio-wave signals of the two radio stations interfere the listener hears nothing but noise.

3. 3

   Of a horse, to strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle by using the legs.

4. 4

   To sexually molest, especially of a child.

   The investigation found the girls had been interfered with.

Forms

past tense

interfered

past participle

interfered

present participle

interfering

third person singular

interferes