meddlesome

adjective

med·​dle·​some ˈme-dᵊl-səm How to pronounce meddlesome (audio)
: given to meddling
meddlesomeness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for meddlesome

impertinent, officious, meddlesome, intrusive, obtrusive mean given to thrusting oneself into the affairs of others.

impertinent implies exceeding the bounds of propriety in showing interest or curiosity or in offering advice.

resented their impertinent interference

officious implies the offering of services or attentions that are unwelcome or annoying.

officious friends made the job harder

meddlesome stresses an annoying and usually prying interference in others' affairs.

a meddlesome landlord

intrusive implies a tactless or otherwise objectionable thrusting into others' affairs.

tried to be helpful without being intrusive

obtrusive stresses improper or offensive conspicuousness of interfering actions.

expressed an obtrusive concern for his safety

Examples of meddlesome in a Sentence

Her neighbors saw her as a meddlesome nuisance. meddlesome neighbors kept asking the couple when they were going to have children
Recent Examples on the Web But in subsequent previews the audience was just as hostile to the play, even without a meddlesome medical emergency. Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 At the very least, doing so will alert the coach to think about how to deal with meddlesome parents. USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2024 Since then, other candidates have pursued similarly meddlesome strategies. Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024 The camera watches, weaves, and waits—not so much sticking its nose in, like a meddlesome guest, as making sure that people are attended to, if only with a glance. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2024 Not requiring any of the meddlesome body parts needed for locomotion, many have lost sensory organs and other such bodily systems, much like the male anglerfish. Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 15 Jan. 2024 Agencies insist that the presence of wildlife is a condition of the land, and that management responses, including public hunting, are the preferred tools to reduce populations of meddlesome wild ungulates. Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 21 Dec. 2023 At one point, the sleeping puppet is awakened by a meddlesome goat (Handspring’s animals are always astonishing) but not before the puppeteers are startled out of slumber one by one — the last one up finally waking Michael. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2023 This investment offered her century-old carmaker the chance to finally be viewed as a disruptive tech company with valuation multiples more akin to buzzy software companies than those of a lowly metal-bender beset by a meddlesome unionized workforce. Bychristiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 20 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'meddlesome.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of meddlesome was in 1615

Dictionary Entries Near meddlesome

Cite this Entry

“Meddlesome.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meddlesome. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

meddlesome

adjective
med·​dle·​some ˈmed-ᵊl-səm How to pronounce meddlesome (audio)
: inclined to meddle
meddlesomely adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on meddlesome

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