interference
B2Neutral to Formal. Common in academic, technical, and formal everyday contexts.
Definition
Meaning
The action of preventing a process or activity from continuing or being carried out properly; the unwanted disturbance of a system or signal.
In linguistics: the influence of one language on another in a bilingual speaker; In law: the action of illegally hindering a player or play in sports; In physics: the combination of two or more wave forms to form a resultant wave.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Core meaning revolves around obstruction or unwanted influence. Carries a generally negative connotation except in specific technical fields like physics, where it is a neutral descriptive term for wave interaction.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No major lexical differences. In sports contexts (e.g., football/soccer), 'interference' is used in both but may apply to different rules.
Connotations
Largely identical. Slightly more common in American legal and political discourse (e.g., 'interference in an election').
Frequency
Comparatively frequent in both varieties.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
interference in somethinginterference with somethinginterference from someone/somethingVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Run interference (for someone) = To deal with problems for someone, clearing the way for them.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Concerns about government interference in the free market.
Academic
The study examined linguistic interference in second language acquisition.
Everyday
Please move your phone, it's causing interference with the speaker.
Technical
The experiment demonstrated constructive and destructive wave interference.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The neighbour is always interfering in our affairs.
- Mobile signals can interfere with hospital equipment.
American English
- He accused the senator of interfering in the investigation.
- The weather interfered with our satellite reception.
adverb
British English
- The manager interferingly micromanaged the project. (rare/formal)
American English
- He acted interferingly by contacting them directly. (rare/formal)
adjective
British English
- The interference pattern on the screen was clear.
- We need an interference-free connection.
American English
- They used interference-resistant technology.
- The committee has non-interference principles.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Bad weather can cause interference on the TV.
- My little brother causes a lot of interference when I'm trying to study.
- The government denies any interference in the country's elections.
- I moved the router to reduce wireless interference.
- Linguistic interference from her native language was evident in her early English essays.
- The referee penalised the player for interference.
- The panel discussed the ethical implications of state interference in private media.
- Quantum interference is a fundamental phenomenon in particle physics.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of someone INTERrupting a FEREnce (like a 'fence' or conference). They are getting in the way – causing INTERFERENCE.
Conceptual Metaphor
OBSTRUCTION IS A PHYSICAL BARRIER / UNWANTED INFLUENCE IS STATIC OR NOISE.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'интерференция', which is a direct cognate but in Russian is used almost exclusively in the physics/technical sense. For everyday 'meddling', use 'вмешательство'.
- Avoid calquing 'government interference' as 'правительственная интерференция'; use 'вмешательство правительства'.
Common Mistakes
- Using 'in' vs. 'with': Typically 'interference in' (broader affairs, processes), 'interference with' (specific equipment, plans). e.g., 'interference in the election' vs. 'interference with the signal'.
- Misspelling as 'interferance'.
- Using it as a positive term outside physics contexts.
Practice
Quiz
In which context does 'interference' NOT have a negative connotation?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No, not always. In physics (wave interference) and some engineering contexts, it is a neutral, descriptive term for a natural phenomenon. In most social, political, and everyday contexts, it implies unwanted or negative obstruction.
Generally, 'interference in' is used for processes, affairs, or jurisdictions (e.g., interference in internal politics). 'Interference with' is used for more tangible objects, equipment, or specific plans (e.g., interference with a signal, interference with my work). The distinction can sometimes blur.
It is usually uncountable (e.g., too much interference). However, it can be countable when referring to specific instances or types, especially in technical writing (e.g., 'several radio interferences were detected').
The direct adjective is 'interferential' (mainly technical, e.g., interferential microscopy). More commonly, the verb's participle 'interfering' is used as an adjective (e.g., an interfering neighbour), or compounds like 'interference-free', 'interference-resistant'.
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