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 1) 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

Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation determined that the Russian government coordinated a massive cyber campaign to meddle in the 2016 election and support the Trump campaign. — Jason Silverstein, CBS News, "McConnell says "Moscow Mitch" nickname is "modern-day McCarthyism"," 4 Sep. 2019 In effect, the independent NASA official asked Congress to kindly not meddle in decisions that concern actual rocket science. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Iranian launch failure, SpaceX rideshare business booming," 30 Aug. 2019 Under scrutiny from regulators since Russia used social media platforms to meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Facebook has been rolling out ad transparency tools country by country since last year. — NBC News, "Facebook tightens rules for U.S. political advertisers ahead of 2020 election," 28 Aug. 2019 Bolsonaro calls it meddling by people who should improve the environment in their own countries. — Marcelo De Souza, Twin Cities, "The Amazon fires: What’s causing them and what the impacts could be," 24 Aug. 2019 Long before its conventional assault on Georgia, Russia openly backed separatist militants, launched cyberattacks, and used disinformation to meddle in the internal affairs of sovereign states. — Mikheil Saakashvili, WSJ, "When Russia Invaded Georgia," 7 Aug. 2018 To apologize for Facebook’s missteps, reassure Congress that Facebook intends to stop foreign powers from using its service to meddle in American elections and detail the company’s plans to better protect its users’ privacy. — Kevin Roose, Cecilia Kang And Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, "Zuckerberg Gets a Crash Course in Charm. Will Congress Care?," 8 Apr. 2018 Jahangiri argued that non-Caspian nations shouldn’t meddle in the region’s affairs and charged that the United States’ unilateralist policies and its emphasis on sanctions threaten stability of the region. — Washington Post, "Russia, Iran, others debate how to split Caspian oil riches," 12 Aug. 2019 Löfven refused, pointing out that the government can’t meddle in legal proceedings. — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, "Trump and Sweden don't see eye to eye – on anything," 2 Aug. 2019

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.