interference
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
the act of getting involved in someone else's business when you are not invited.
the act of intervening in a situation without invitation or right, often causing a nuisance or obstruction.
Simple“I wish my parents would stop their constant interference in my private life.”
In context“The government was accused of political interference in the judicial process, sparking a debate about the separation of powers.”
SynonymsAntonymscooperationnon interference - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
extra noise or a bad connection that stops a radio, TV, or phone from working clearly.
the disruption of a transmitted signal by atmospheric noise, unwanted signals, or electrical disturbances.
Simple“There is too much interference on the radio because of the storm.”
In context“The technician explained that the proximity of the high-voltage cables was causing significant electromagnetic interference with the server equipment.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
what happens when two waves (like light or sound) meet and change each other.
the phenomenon in which two or more waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude.
Simple“The colorful patterns on the soap bubble are caused by light interference.”
In context“The experiment demonstrated constructive interference, where the peaks of two light waves aligned to create a much brighter band on the screen.”
Synonymssuperposition - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
an unfair move in sports where a player blocks an opponent illegally.
the illegal obstruction of an opponent's progress or ability to play the ball.
Simple“The referee called a penalty for interference after the player blocked the runner.”
In context“The defender was penalized for pass interference after making contact with the receiver before the ball had arrived.”
Synonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
when the rules of your first language make you make mistakes in a new language.
the effect of a learner's first language on the production of a second language, often leading to errors in syntax or pronunciation.
Simple“His mistake with the verb was a clear case of interference from his native French.”
In context“Linguistic interference often occurs when a student applies the grammatical structures of their mother tongue to a target language with different syntactic rules.”
- 06 C2 Proficiency
a legal process to decide who had an idea first when two people apply for the same patent.
an administrative proceeding to determine which of multiple applicants is entitled to a patent for the same invention.
Simple“The two tech companies entered an interference proceeding to see who owned the software code.”
In context“The patent office initiated an interference to resolve the priority dispute between the two rival research teams claiming the same chemical discovery.”
Synonymspriority contest
“Just hours before the commission's statement, Mundubile expressed "grave concern" over delays in the announcement of presidential results, warning that the delay could create opportunities for interference or manipulation.”
“In Moldova, Moscow paid Orthodox priests, conducted a vote-buying scheme and set up training camps on election interference — all in an effort to derail the Western-leaning government.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.