Interference is something that is in your way. If the sound of your sister's band practicing keeps you from getting your homework done, that’s interference.

Governments are sometimes accused of interference in other countries' affairs. If your neighbor’s in a civil war and your president sends in troops, your country may be accused of interference in that country's internal affairs, If all you hear on your radio is static, you’ve got interference — something is blocking the clear signal. And when a football player blocks another player, that's also interference. The Latin roots of interference are entre-, “between,” and ferire, “strike.”

Definitions of interference

n the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding

hinderance, hindrance
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foiling, frustration, thwarting
an act of hindering someone's plans or efforts
the act of obstructing
the act or process of complicating
bar, prevention
the act of preventing
blockage, closure, occlusion
the act of blocking
stall, stalling
a tactic used to mislead or delay
the act of discouraging
nuclear deterrence
the act of preventing something from occurring
the act of prevention by legal means
the act of preventing someone from participating by finding them unqualified
the act of intercepting; preventing something from proceeding or arriving
non-proliferation, nonproliferation
forestalling, obviation, preclusion
the act of preventing something by anticipating and disposing of it effectively
the prevention of disease
(sports) the act of preventing the opposition from scoring
crushing, quelling, stifling, suppression
forceful prevention; putting down by power or authority
obstruction of justice
Type of:
act, deed, human action, human activity
something that people do or cause to happen

n (American football) blocking a player's path with your body

“he ran interference for the quarterback”
Type of:
block, blocking
the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements

n any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome

encumbrance, hinderance, hindrance, hitch, incumbrance, preventative, preventive
any object that acts as a hindrance or obstruction
speed bump
Type of:
impediment, impedimenta, obstructer, obstruction, obstructor
any structure that makes progress difficult

n a policy of intervening in the affairs of other countries

noninterference, nonintervention
a foreign policy of staying out of other countries' disputes
Type of:
foreign policy
a policy governing international relations

n electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication

disturbance, noise
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background, background signal
XT, crosstalk
the presence of an unwanted signal via an accidental coupling
a gradual temporary loss of a transmitted signal due to electrical disturbances
atmospheric static, atmospherics, static
a crackling or hissing noise caused by electrical interference
white noise
background noise, ground noise
background radiation
radiation coming from sources other than those being observed
radio noise
static at radio wavelengths
Type of:
an event causing distress or pain

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