interfere

/ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/

//ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"interfere" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“interfere” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,559. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,559
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.

Corpus desk

Index EN-interfere · interfere · English

interfere · rank #8,559 · 13 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,559
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH intersection

Nearest frequency peer: intersection (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “interfere”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “interfere” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

interfere vs intervene
78% similar
interfere vs interfered
90% similar
interfere vs interferon
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for interfere
PropertyValue
Headwordinterfere
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/
Letters9
Frequency rank#8,559
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “interfere”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).interferelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “intersection” (#8,560), “imports” (#8,557), “immense” (#8,556). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “interfere” is #8,559. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around interfere (IPA /ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,559 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for interfere, with forms such as "inetrfere", "innterfere", and "intefrere". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "intervene", "interfered", "interferon", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French entreferir, from entre- + ferir (“to hit, to strike”), itself from the Latin verb ferio. The correct English form is interfere, spelled I-N-T-E-R-F-E-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.
  2. 2
    Of waves, to be correlated with each other when overlapped or superposed.
  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.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how interfere appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I always try not to interfere with other people’s personal affairs.
  2. 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.

Etymology

From Old French entreferir, from entre- + ferir (“to hit, to strike”), itself from the Latin verb ferio.

This word in other languages

interferir(Español)entraver(Français)eingreifen(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetrfere
  • innterfere
  • intefrere
  • interefre
  • interfeer
  • interferre
  • interffere
  • interfree
  • interrfere
  • intrefere
  • intterfere
  • itnerfere
  • niterfere

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of interfere - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

inetrfere2innterfere1intefrere2interefre2interfeer2interferre1interffere1interfree2
Edit distance from "interfere"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "interfere"?
"interfere" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-F-E-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/.
What does "interfere" mean?
As a verb, "interfere" means: To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.
What words are commonly confused with "interfere"?
"interfere" is commonly confused with "intervene", "interfered", "interferon". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "interfere"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "interfere" is /ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "interfere"?
From Old French entreferir, from entre- + ferir (“to hit, to strike”), itself from the Latin verb ferio. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "interfere", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pointless#8,590proximity#8,594scenarios#8,603selective#8,604

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

knocking13 variantsprompted13 variantssocialism13 variantsstressful13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list