What does interfere mean?
Word: Interfere
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Interfere means to get involved in something that is not your business, or to get in the way of something so that it cannot work properly.
Synonyms: meddle, intrude, disturb, hinder
How do you spell interfere?
Syllables: in - ter - fere
Tricky part: The ending sounds like fear, but it is spelt -fere.
Watch out for: interfear, interfeer, interferre
Memory tip: There is no fear in interfere: the ending has no a.
Interfere in a sentence
Example 1: Please do not interfere when your brother is solving his own puzzle.
Example 2: Loud music from the wedding next door interfered with my exam revision.
Example 3: Heavy rain can interfere with the signal from the TV dish.
Fun Fact
Light waves can interfere with each other. That is what makes the rainbow colours swirl on a soap bubble.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Tally
You get 2 marks for each correctly spelt word in the list. How many marks do you get?
interfere, disturbance, nieghbour, privasy, permission
a) 8
b) 4
c) 6
d) 2
Show answer
c) 6. Neighbour puts e before i and privacy has a c, so three words earn 2 marks each.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
refrenite
a) to share your toys and snacks with others
b) to put off a task until a later day
c) to poke your nose into matters that are not yours
d) to look into a matter to find out the truth
Show answer
c) to poke your nose into matters that are not yours. Rearranged, the letters spell interfere, which is what a classmate does who keeps answering questions put to someone else.
Spell Probe
Choose the meaning of the misspelt word in the given sentence:
Rohan's little cousin kept trying to interfere with his science model, so Rohan put it on the top shelf of the cupbord.
a) a narrow board fixed to a wall for keeping things on
b) a piece of furniture with doors, used for storing things
c) a small copy of something, often made for a project
d) a child of your aunt or uncle
Show answer
b) a piece of furniture with doors, used for storing things. Cupbord has lost the a of board: the word is cupboard.
Spell Spies
Choose the pair which has a spelling error:
a) differ : difference
b) interfere : interferance
c) prefer : preference
d) refer : reference
Show answer
b) interfere : interferance. Interference ends in -ence, like the other three nouns.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Pick the example of interfering.
a) helping when someone asks
b) cheering when your team scores
c) reading a book on the bus
d) telling a friend every move in his game
Show answer
d) telling a friend every move in his game
2. A parent who interferes in a children's game ____.
a) takes over and changes the rules
b) packs the snacks for later
c) watches quietly from a bench
d) buys a new ball for them
Show answer
a) takes over and changes the rules
