From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishinterferein‧ter‧fere /ˌɪntəˈfɪə $ -tərˈfɪr/ ●●○ verb [intransitive] INTERFEREto deliberately get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed SYN meddle My daughter-in-law said that I was interfering, but I was only trying to help.interfere in It’s not the church’s job to interfere in politics.THESAURUSinterfere to try to get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or neededShe tried not to interfere in her children’s lives.It’s not your problem, so don’t interfere.meddle to interfere in someone else’s affairs in a way that is annoying for them. Meddle is more informal than interfere, and has more of a feeling of being annoyed I did not want my parents meddling in my private affairs. He warned diplomats against meddling in Indonesia’s affairs.intrude to interfere by being somewhere where you are not wanted, or getting involved in a situation that is private – used especially when saying that you want to avoid doing thisSorry, I didn’t mean to intrude while you were on the phone.When someone dies, people are often worried about intruding.butt in informal to interfere by trying to become involved in a private situation or conversation that does not concern youStop butting in, will you!I didn’t want to give them any advice in case they thought I was butting in.pry to try to find out what someone else is doing in their private life, by asking questions or secretly checking what they are doing, in a way that seems annoying or rudeJournalists like to pry into the lives of the rich and famous.I didn’t mean to pry – I just wanted to know if I could help.poke/stick your nose into something informal to ask questions about someone else’s private life or give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys themShe’s one of those people who’s always poking her nose into other people’s business. → interfere with something/somebody→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
interfere• The protestors were peaceful, and the police decided not to interfere.• Schools should be managed by teachers, not interfering bureaucrats.• I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interfere, but I didn't want Glenda to be upset.• The US was accused of interfering in China's internal affairs.• She has no right to interfere in her son's marriage.interfere in• Rollings said her mother interfered in her adult life and treated her like a child.Origin interfere (1400-1500) Old French entreferir “to hit each other”, from ferir “to hit” 