interfere

verb

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

1. To get involved or involve oneself, causing disturbance.

   “I always try not to interfere with other people’s personal affairs.”

   “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.”

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.”

   “Where the radio-wave signals of the two radio stations interfere the listener hears nothing but noise.”

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.”