Interference

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Interference \In`ter*fer"ence\, n. [See {Interfere}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. The act or state of interfering; as, the stoppage of a
        machine by the interference of some of its parts; a
        meddlesome interference in the business of others.
        [1913 Webster]


  
     2. (Physics) The mutual influence, under certain conditions,
        as from streams of light, or pulsations of sound, or,
        generally, two waves or vibrations of any kind, producing
        certain characteristic phenomena, as colored fringes, dark
        bands, or darkness, in the case of light, silence or
        increased intensity in sounds; neutralization or
        superposition of waves generally.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The term is most commonly applied to light, and the
           undulatory theory of light affords the proper
           explanation of the phenomena which are considered to be
           produced by the superposition of waves, and are thus
           substantially identical in their origin with the
           phenomena of heat, sound, waves of water, and the like.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Patent Law) The act or state of interfering, or of
        claiming a right to the same invention.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Interference figures} (Optics), the figures observed when
        certain sections of crystallized bodies are viewed in
        converging polarized light; thus, a section of a uniaxial
        crystal, cut normal to the vertical axis, shows a series
        of concentric colored rings with a single black cross; --
        so called because produced by the interference of luminous
        waves.
  
     {Interference fringe}. (Optics) See {Fringe}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  interference
       n 1: a policy of intervening in the affairs of other countries
            [syn: {intervention}] [ant: {nonintervention}, {nonintervention}]
       2: the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding [syn: {hindrance}]
       3: electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb
          communication [syn: {noise}, {disturbance}]
       4: (American football) the act of obstructing someone's path
          with your body; "he threw a rolling block into the line
          backer" [syn: {blocking}, {block}]
       5: any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome [syn: {hindrance},
           {hitch}, {preventive}, {preventative}, {encumbrance}, {incumbrance}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  157 Moby Thesaurus words for "interference":
     amplitude, antagonism, antinode, antipathy, arrest, arrestation,
     arrestment, atmospherics, backlash, blaring, blasting, blind spot,
     block, blockage, blocking, check, clashing, clogging, closing up,
     closure, collision, conflict, confutation, constriction,
     contradiction, contraposition, contrariety, counteraction,
     counterposition, counterworking, cramp, crankiness, crawling,
     creeping, crest, crotchetiness, de Broglie wave, delay, detainment,
     detention, difficulty, diffraction, dissent, drift,
     electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, encroachment,
     encumbrance, entrance, entrenchment, fade-out, fading, fixation,
     foot-dragging, frequency, frequency band, frequency spectrum,
     friction, frustration, guided wave, hampering, handicap, hindering,
     hindrance, hitch, holdback, holdup, impedance, impediment,
     impingement, imposition, in phase, incursion, infiltration, influx,
     infringement, inhibition, injection, inroad, insinuation,
     interceding, intercession, interjection, interloping,
     interposition, interposure, interruption, intervention, intruding,
     intrusion, invasion, irruption, kick, let, light,
     longitudinal wave, mechanical wave, meddling, negativism, node,
     noise, nonconformity, nuisance value, obstruction, obstructionism,
     obtrusion, occlusion, opposition, opposure, oppugnance, oppugnancy,
     out of phase, period, periodic wave, perverseness, radio wave, ray,
     reaction, recalcitrance, reception, recoil, reinforcement,
     renitency, repercussion, repression, repugnance, resistance,
     resonance, resonance frequency, restraint, restriction,
     retardation, retardment, revolt, seismic wave, setback, shock wave,
     snag, sound wave, squeeze, static, stranglehold, stricture,
     suppression, surface wave, swimming upstream, tidal wave,
     transverse wave, trespass, trespassing, trough, unlawful entry,
     wave, wave equation, wave motion, wave number, wavelength