ˈmed ə l verb
( meddled ; meddled ; meddling -d( ə )liŋ ; meddles )
Etymology: Middle English medelen, medlen, from Old French mesler, mesdler, medler, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin misculare, from Latin miscēre to mix — more at mix
transitive verb
1. obsolete : to mix together : combine , mingle
2. dialect : to interfere with : disturb
intransitive verb
1. obsolete : to engage in combat
2.
a. archaic : to occupy oneself : deal — usually used with with
b. : to busy oneself intrusively or officiously : interfere without right or propriety
the driving spirit of malice which forced him to meddle in other people's lives — Carl Van Doren
history and psychology can meddle too much with the meanings of art — Times Literary Supplement
Synonyms:
interfere , intermeddle , tamper : meddle suggests officiously entering into something in no way one's concern, affair, or responsibility without right, permission, or request of those concerned
as Minister of Finance, Chari had no business to meddle in political affairs — Christine Weston
it is inexpedient to meddle with questions of State in a land where men are highly paid to work them out for you — Rudyard Kipling
interfere suggests taking part obtrusively and officiously in the affairs of others so as to hinder, frustrate, check, or defeat
he would not allow management or labor to interfere with increasing production — Collier's Year Book
when a child persistently interferes with other children or spoils their pleasures, the obvious penalty is banishment — Bertrand Russell
intermeddle combines connotations and denotations of meddle and interfere
a petition to parliament sets forth how all kinds of unlearned men intermeddle with the practice of physic — G.G.Coulton
tamper suggests unwarranted alteration or change, ill-advised readjustment, meddlesome experimentation, or improper influence
he would suddenly leave his guests and rush back to town to see that the door had not been tampered with — Oscar Wilde
these blank notes were slipped into the note case when examiners came along and the books were tampered to indicate that the notes were bearing interest — W.A.White
money and sex are forces too unruly for our reason; they can only be controlled by taboos with which we tamper at our peril — L.P.Smith