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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Interference \In'ter*fer"ence\, noun [See {Interfere}.]
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.
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.
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.
3. (Patent Law) The act or state of interfering, or of claiming a right to the same invention.
{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}.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
interference
noun
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
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