小词详解 | meddle

meddle 英 [ˈmedl] 美 [ˈmedl]

TEM8 GRE

外刊例句

• Carriers such as Malaysia Airlines had allowed costs to run out of control, thanks to poor management and political meddling.
  管理不善及政治干预导致马航等航空公司成本失控。
  ——《经济学人》

• Mr. Trump, who has often questioned the intelligence community’s consensus on Russian interference in 2016, has signed an executive order to punish foreign meddling, but lawmakers in both parties have been pushing for something more aggressive.
  特朗普总统经常质疑情报界对俄罗斯干涉2016年大选的共识，他已签署了一项惩罚外国干预的行政命令，但两党的立法者一直在推动更剧烈的措施。
  ——《纽约时报》

基本释义

[verb] interfere in something that is not one's concern
[动词] 干涉与自己无关的事情

深入解读

Meddle 源自拉丁语 miscere （混合、掺和），14世纪初进入英语时也表示“混合”，但到了14世纪末开始演变为“忙碌、关心、从事”之义。用作贬义时则是指“不适当地或不恰当地干涉或参与、多管闲事、自讨苦吃”，即干涉太多。

而这一贬义随着时间发展就成了 meddle 唯一留存下来的含义，现主要指“管闲事、干涉、干预”，常用 meddle in/with sth 表达，强调干预与自己毫不相关的事或不属于自己职责范围的事，隐含未经许可或授权之义，比如：

• 他无权干涉她的婚姻。
  He had no right to meddle in her marriage.

• 她老是想管闲事。
  She is always trying to meddle.

值得注意的是， meddle with sth 还可以表示“瞎搞、乱弄（不是自己的或自己不懂的事物）”，也是强调未经授权许可，比如：

• 有人擅自摆弄过我的电脑。
  Somebody had been meddling with my computer.

权威用例

同时，中国始终恪守反对人道主义干涉的原则，从不干涉被援助国内政，充分尊重当地人文环境和风俗习惯。
Throughout this process, China adheres to the principle of opposition to any interference under the pretext of humanitarianism. It never meddles in the internal affairs of recipient countries, and fully respects their culture and customs.

出自《为人民谋幸福：新中国人权事业发展70年》（Seeking Happiness for People: 70 Years of Progress on Human Rights in China）白皮书。

同近义词

• interfere: intervene in a situation without invitation or necessity

• interlope: become involved in a place or situation where one is not wanted or is considered not to belong

• intervene: take part in something so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events

往期回顾