interfere
in·ter·fere/ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/verb
interfere is spelled I-N-T-E-R-F-E-R-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (in·ter·fere). It appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, interfere means “To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in interfere?
| Letters | 9: I-N-T-E-R-F-E-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: in·ter·fere |
| In writing | 7.6 times per million words; the 8,542nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is interfere?
Interfere appears 7.6 times per million words in written English, the 8,542nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce interfere?
- US /ˌɪn.tɚˈfɪɚ/
- UK /ˌɪn.təˈfɪə(ɹ)/
Interfere has 3 syllables, split in·ter·fere in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-interfere.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with interfere?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as interfere from its last stressed vowel (/ɪəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of interfere
- interferes present, singular, he/she/it
- interfering participle, present
- interfered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does interfere mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.
I always try not to interfere with other people’s personal affairs.
- 2
Of waves, to be correlated with each other when overlapped or superposed.
Correlated waves interfere to produce interesting patterns, while uncorrelated waves overlap without interfering.
- 3
Of a horse, to strike one foot against the opposite foot or ankle by using the legs.
- 4
To sexually molest, especially of a child.
The investigation found the girls had been interfered with.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Interfere in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | se mêler (de), entraver, perturber , interférer |
| German | eingreifen, sich einmischen, stören , musterbildend gegenseitig beeinflussen, kohärent überlagern, interferieren |
| Spanish | interferir |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does interfere come from?
From Old French entreferir, from entre- + ferir (“to hit, to strike”), itself from the Latin verb ferio.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).