meddle

verb

med·dle | \ ˈme-dᵊl

meddled; meddling\ ˈmed-liŋ

, ˈme-dᵊl-iŋ \

Definition of meddle

: to interest oneself in what is not one's concern : interfere without right or propriety (see propriety sense 3) I never meddle in other people's private affairs— G. B. Shaw

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Choose the Right Synonym for meddle

meddle, interfere, and tamper mean to get involved with something that is someone else's business. meddle is used for intruding in an inconsiderate and annoying fashion. Don't meddle in her personal life. interfere is used for getting in the way of or disturbing someone or something whether intentionally or not. I tried to give advice without interfering. tamper is used for intruding or experimenting in a way that is wrong or uncalled-for and likely to be harmful. Someone had tampered with the lock.

Examples of meddle in a Sentence

please stop meddling in your sister's marriage, even though you mean well

Recent Examples on the Web

If a rogue scientist tinkering quietly in a lab can smash through norms, local laws, and meddle with the human genome to feed his own ego or scientific curiosity, the worry is that many more dangerous applications of CRISPR could be in store. — Julia Belluz, Vox, "Is the CRISPR baby controversy the start of a terrifying new chapter in gene editing?," 22 Jan. 2019 Even as Volkswagen works on enterprisewide compliance systems, a code of conduct and various technical changes to guard against another scandal, German prosecutors have asserted that some company officials were meddling with their investigation. — William Boston, WSJ, "Report on Volkswagen’s Changes Since Emissions Scandal Cites Lack of Transparency," 27 Aug. 2018 The earth’s changing climate contributed to the increase, meddling with precipitation patterns and hastening suppressing wildfires—which creates a buildup of natural fuels. — Kevin Dupzyk, Popular Mechanics, "The Tank That's Tougher Than Wildfire," 13 Nov. 2018 Was that due to hackers meddling with the vote, technical snafus, or user error? — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Blockchain-based elections would be a disaster for democracy," 6 Nov. 2018 Other Russian agents were penalized for their alleged efforts to meddle in elections overseas, including Montenegro. — Ian Talley, WSJ, "U.S. Sanctions Russian Intelligence Agents Over Attacks on U.S., Allies," 19 Dec. 2018 In a Sunday interview on ABC’s This Week, Bolton said the Trump administration is worried that China, North Korea, and Iran have stepped up their efforts to meddle ahead of the November vote. — Alex Ward, Vox, "It’s not just Russia. China, North Korea, and Iran could interfere in 2018 elections, too.," 20 Aug. 2018 The report not only backs up intelligence officials’ assessment that Russia acted deliberately to help Trump, but also that Putin personally ordered the efforts to meddle in the U.S. campaign. — Chris Megerian, Anchorage Daily News, "Senate panel backs up intelligence agencies, says Russia aimed to help Trump in election," 4 July 2018 The report not only backs up intelligence officials’ assessment that Russia acted deliberately to help Trump, but also that Putin personally ordered the efforts to meddle in the U.S. campaign. — Chris Megerian, latimes.com, "Senate panel backs up intelligence agencies, says Russia aimed to help Trump in election," 3 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'meddle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.