intermingle
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
have intermingledperfect
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has intermingledperfect 3rd person singular
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have been interminglingperfect progressive
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are interminglingprogressive
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is interminglingprogressive 3rd person singular
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interminglingparticiple
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has been interminglingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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am interminglingprogressive 1st person singular
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interminglessingular 3rd person
Past
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had intermingledperfect
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had been interminglingperfect progressive
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were interminglingprogressive plural
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was interminglingprogressive singular
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intermingledsimple
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intermingledparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of intermingle
late Middle English word dating back to 1425–75; see origin at inter-, mingle
Explanation
Things that intermingle get mixed up with each other. Tall grasses and daisies might intermingle in your parents' backyard, but your parents may choose not to intermingle with their neighbors. When kids from diverse backgrounds intermingle in school, they learn more about people who are different from themselves, and when several different flavors intermingle successfully in a recipe, the taste is complex and delicious. Intermingle intermingles the prefix inter-, "among or between" and mingle, from the Middle English myngen, "to mix," from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "to knead together."
Vocabulary lists containing intermingle
Inside Out & Back Again
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Novel Study: Inside Out & Back Again, Unpack and Repack–1976: The Year of the Dragon
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Shots of children too absorbed in their tablets to play with each other intermingle with classic bickering between Tom Hanks‘ Woody and Tim Allen‘s Buzz Lightyear.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
In so doing, we may one day generate forests of trees whose ancestry does not intermingle with that of the species generated by the historic evolutionary process.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025
The communities on either side are often from the same ethnic groups and intermingle, and herds of cattle migrate across the vast savannah.
From Barron's • Oct. 20, 2025
Sorrow and wonder intermingle in the astute girl’s turbulent journey.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025
I look back and see the way our footsteps intermingle to form a single path.
From "Every Day" by David Levithan
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.