| Front | meddle |
|---|---|
| Back | med‧dle /ˈmedl/ verb [intransitive] 1to deliberately try to influence or change a situation that does not concern you, or that you do not understand SYN 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 THESAURUS 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. |
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