interference

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
17
Words With Friends
20
Letters
12
Pronunciation
/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈfɪəɹəns/(UK)
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈfɪəɹəns/(UK) · /ˌɪntəɹˈfɪɹɪns/(US)

Definition of interference

8 senses · 2 parts of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)The act of interfering with something, or something that interferes.
    “Somewhat impeded by constant political interference of one sort or another, British Railways are nevertheless pressing ahead with a mammoth modernisation programme; [...]”
    “"With magic in limited use and hidden, it was possible to enhance the various magic resistances of humans, and to keep certain forms of magic from being possible. If magic enters common usage, this interference becomes infeasible."”
See all 8 definitions

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)The act of interfering with something, or something that interferes.
    “Somewhat impeded by constant political interference of one sort or another, British Railways are nevertheless pressing ahead with a mammoth modernisation programme; [...]”
    “"With magic in limited use and hidden, it was possible to enhance the various magic resistances of humans, and to keep certain forms of magic from being possible. If magic enters common usage, this interference becomes infeasible."”
  2. (countable, uncountable)The illegal obstruction of an opponent in some ball games.
    “They were glued to the TV, as the referee called out a fifteen yard penalty for interference.”
  3. (countable, uncountable)An effect caused by the superposition of two systems of waves.
  4. (countable, uncountable)A distortion on a broadcast signal due to atmospheric or other effects.
    “They wanted to watch the game on TV, but there was too much interference to even make out the score on the tiny screen.”
  5. (US, countable, uncountable)In United States patent law, an inter partes proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications; a priority contest.
  6. (countable, uncountable)The interruption of the line between an attacked piece and its defender by sacrificially interposing a piece.
  7. (countable, uncountable)A negative or inappropriate language transfer.

verb

  1. (nonstandard)To interfere.
    “In economic terms, the two production processes can be simultaneously implemented without interferencing between themselves.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From interfere + -ence. The sense in physics was likely introduced by English polymath Thomas Young, which he used as early as 1801 in a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Words you can make from interference

200+ playable · top: CENTERFIRE (15 pts)

Best play centerfire 15 points

10-letter words

1 word

9-letter words

4 words

8-letter words

9 words

7-letter words

24 words

6-letter words

38 words

5-letter words

38 words

4-letter words

44 words

3-letter words

32 words

2-letter words

9 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to interference to make another valid word.

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