n.
Pronunciation: ˌ in-t ə (r)- ' fir- ˌ än
Function: noun
Etymology: interfere + 2 -on
Date: 1957
: any of a group of heat-stable soluble basic antiviral glycoprotein cytokines of low molecular weight that are produced by cells exposed usually to the action of a virus, sometimes to the action of another intracellular parasite (as a bacterium), or experimentally to the action of some chemicals