Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To intrude into other people's affairs or business; interfere. See Synonyms at interfere.
- v. To handle something idly or ignorantly; tamper.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To mix; mingle.
- To be mixed or mingled; mix.
- To mingle in association or interest; concern one's self; take part; deal: generally requiring with in construction.
- To interfere or take part inappropriately, improperly, or impertinently; concern or busy one's self with or about something without necessity or warrant; act in a matter with which one has no business: used absolutely, or followed by in or with.
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. obsolete To mix; to mingle.
- v. obsolete To interest or engage one's self; to have to do; -- in a good sense.
- v. To interest or engage one's self unnecessarily or impertinently, to interfere or busy one's self improperly with another's affairs; specifically, to handle or distrub another's property without permission; -- often followed by with or in.
- v. obsolete To mix; to mingle.
WordNet 3.0
- v. intrude in other people's affairs or business; interfere unwantedly
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman medler, variant of Anglo-Norman and Old French mesler, meller, from Late Latin misculare, from Latin miscere ("to mix"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English medlen, from Anglo-Norman medler, variant of Old French mesler, from Vulgar Latin *misculāre, to mix thoroughly, from Latin miscēre, to mix; see meik- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“How to make doing nothing - indeed REFUSING to "meddle" - look as though it is a real act of leadership.”
“it's my job to meddle," is more than equipped to tackle.”
“My meddle is definitely being tested in the Holy Land, where people still smoke in the malls (even though it’s technically illegal, but no one cares).”
“But that depends on how much Sony meddle, which is, I admit, a big factor.”
“Martin Luther King invited them to meddle, which is why he repeatedly said, "The world is watching," a phrase which President Obama is now using against Iran.”
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: Spectator of the Free World: Obama and Iran
“To meddle or not to meddle, that is not the question...”
“It is a decent enough trade; plenty of people with fine titles meddle with it.”
“Martin Luther King invited them to meddle, which is why he repeatedly said,”
“There's always a risk that the politicians will meddle, which is one reason for the Bush Administration to do this now so it can insist on enough political insulation.”
“With Obama saying we shouldn't "meddle", he's taking away anything the Iranian government can say suggesting this unrest in their country is due to the United States.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘meddle’.
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@vcb.etym.prjct - SAT WORD DUMP - as ...
The words on this list SAT regulars that I haven't sorted and grouped yet. It's like my wordy holding pen. get it? holding the pen to write a word? HA! I love how lame my humor is.
iconoclast, glacial, agnostic, histrionic, treacly, contemptuous, captious, bombastic, bombast, perfidy, quiescence, sordid and 148 more...
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CCle
all those wonderful Britsy words that end with a double consonant followed by 'le'
doddle, bobble, dibble, whiffle, waffle, diddle, piddle, jiggle, straggle, boggle, fiddle, skeedaddle and 125 more...
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Found Poetry
Sometimes there are definitions from the Century Dictionary, American Heritage Dictionary, and Wiktionary which would make lovely found poems. This is a list of words which seem to have lyrical or ...
remote, diurnally, thence, anthesis, lew, interlock, fremd, pluck, commit, meddle, cant, cloud-built and 17 more...
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Wild Ees
For words containing at least two instances of the letter E.
cerebration, concupiscence, flatulence, breed, screed, tweed, bleed, feed, steed, speed, deed, weed and 9 more...
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Miscellany
avid, shard, begone, gibes, romantic, inspiration, dashing, affliction, daring, elocution, hegemony, supercalifragilis... and 97 more...
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colleen's words ii
sibilant, sundry, spindle, distaff, device, mortar, pestle, scythe, flail, thresh, frown, elementary and 495 more...
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Just 'cause I like 'em, M
metamerism, malady, margin, marauder, maverick, mercury, mirth, mandible, macerate, meteor, manumission, mica and 292 more...
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Sat Vocabulary List
abandon, abash, abate, abjure, ablution, abnegate, abominable, aboriginal, abortive, abrade, abridge, abrogate and 2155 more...
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SAT PSAT ALPHABETICAL M
macabre, machination, macrocosm, maelstrom, magisterial, magnanimous, magnate, maladaptive, malady, malediction, maleficent, malevolent and 96 more...
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tralala's Words
arch, enigmatic, inexplicable, captivating, merry, advantageous, appropriate, compelling, alluring, wicked, inept, douse and 200 more...
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words I remember first encountering
fetlock, artefact, quandary, asyndeton, chiasmus, enjambement, vehemently, vituperative, decorum, sable, scansion, diapason and 75 more...
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common words
mei- root words, a changing mixture
common, communion, community, meatus, conge, permeate, irremeable, mew, molt, mutate, commute, permute and 87 more...
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stragglers
double consonant -le verbs
hobble, straggle, huddle, hassle, addle, tattle, stipple, tipple, fiddle, peddle, coddle, cobble and 59 more...
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zachhale's Words
octopus, amoeba, intellect, froth, noob, latency, malleable, plethora, agnostic, stoked, word, preposterous and 45 more...
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Words That The World Should Use More ...
terse, meddle, wrath, dwell, astray, invariably, bauer, shirk, concur, strew
Tweets
Looking for tweets for meddle.
dontcry beautiful May 11, 2012
deinonychus yay! dictionary haiku! May 10, 2012
ruzuzu Meddle (1)
A haiku by the American Heritage Dictionary
To intrude into
other people's affairs or
business; interfere. May 10, 2012