meddle
[verb]
Synonyms: interfere, butt in, intervene, intrude, pry, tamper

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Contrasted words: disregard, ignore, neglect, omit, overlook, slight, avoid, eschew, shun
Related Idioms: put (or shove or stick) one's oar in, stick one's nose into
Related Words: intervene, intrude, invade, obtrude, pry, snoop, trespass

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English Thesaurus: interfere, meddle, intrude, butt in, pry, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

med‧dle /ˈmedl/ verb [intransitive]
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: mesler, medler, from Latin miscere 'to mix']

1. to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand Synonym : interfere
meddle in
I don’t like other people meddling in the way I run this prison.
He accused the US of meddling in China’s internal affairs.
meddle with
I’m not the sort of newspaper owner who meddles with editorial policy.

2. British English to touch something which you should not touch, especially in a careless way that might break it
meddle with
You have no right to come in here meddling with my things.
—meddler noun [countable]
—meddling noun [uncountable]
—meddling adjective [only before noun]:
meddling politicians

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

interfere to try to get involved in a situation where you are not wanted or needed:
She tried not to interfere in her children’s lives.
It’s not your problem, so don’t interfere.
meddle to interfere in someone else’s affairs in a way that is annoying for them. Meddle is more informal than interfere, and has more of a feeling of being annoyed:
I did not want my parents meddling in my private affairs.
He warned diplomats against meddling in Indonesia’s affairs.
intrude to interfere by being somewhere where you are not wanted, or getting involved in a situation that is private – used especially when saying that you want to avoid doing this:
Sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude while you were on the phone.
When someone dies, people are often worried about intruding.
butt in informal to interfere by trying to become involved in a private situation or conversation that does not concern you:
Stop butting in, will you!
I didn’t want to give them any advice in case they thought I was butting in.
pry to try to find out what someone else is doing in their private life, by asking questions or secretly checking what they are doing, in a way that seems annoying or rude:
Journalists like to pry into the lives of the rich and famous.
I didn’t mean to pry – I just wanted to know if I could help.
poke/stick your nose into something informal to ask questions about someone else’s private life or give them advice they do not want, in a way that annoys them:
She’s one of those people who’s always poking her nose into other people’s business.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲