intervene
Americanverb (used without object)
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intervenes,
present (3rd person singular)
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intervened,
past participle, past
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intervening
present participle
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to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate.
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to occur or be between two things.
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to occur or happen between other events or periods.
Nothing important intervened between the meetings.
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(of things) to occur incidentally so as to modify or hinder.
We enjoyed the picnic until a thunderstorm intervened.
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to interfere with force or a threat of force.
to intervene in the affairs of another country.
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Law. to interpose and become a party to a suit pending between other parties.
verb
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(often foll by in) to take a decisive or intrusive role (in) in order to modify or determine events or their outcome
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to come or be (among or between)
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(of a period of time) to occur between events or points in time
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(of an event) to disturb or hinder a course of action
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economics to take action to affect the market forces of an economy, esp to maintain the stability of a currency
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law to interpose and become a party to a legal action between others, esp in order to protect one's interests
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intervenesimple
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intervenessimple
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have intervenedperfect
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has intervenedperfect
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am interveningprogressive
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are interveningprogressive
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is interveningprogressive
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have been interveningperfect progressive
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has been interveningperfect progressive
Past
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intervenedsimple
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had intervenedperfect
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was interveningprogressive
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were interveningprogressive
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had been interveningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intervene
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin intervenīre “to come between,” from inter- inter- + venīre “to come”; see also basis, come
Explanation
From the Latin "intervenire," meaning “to come between,” the verb intervene means just that: to get involved, to jump in the middle of something, to interfere. The verb intervene was first recorded around 1600. Since then there haven't been many interventions in its meaning or usage. You should probably intervene in a heated verbal fight between two of your friends before it escalates and gets physical. Especially if they're debating the United States’ habit of intervening in international conflicts.
Vocabulary lists containing intervene
Power Prefix: inter-
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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.
See Examples For:
Britain's culture minister Lisa Nandy, meanwhile, opted not to intervene in the merger, saying she had secured "assurances and further legally-binding commitments" to ensure a diverse range of broadcasting and on-demand services in the country.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Because of the "structural fragility" of boats used to cross the Channel, it said they decided not to intervene further at that stage.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
“We’d prefer them not to be selling about $50 billion of Treasurys every time they intervene for little, if any, results,” said Eric Wallerstein, chief macro strategist at Clocktower Group.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
She didn’t say whether the government planned to intervene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
If anyone heard or saw, they did not intervene.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
Japan says that if it intervenes again, it will borrow from the Fed to do so rather than sell its Treasury holdings outright.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Saroj is now demanding the government urgently intervenes and close HMP Pentonville down.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
"When one country intervenes in the decisions of another country, freedom dies," Petro wrote Tuesday in response to Trump's endorsement.
From Barron's ● Jun. 3, 2026
“Real life intervenes for Kayce. Unfortunately it happens to so many of us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
“Vegetables are good for you; your mother says so too. Have some more,” she insists, until Father intervenes and upholds my right to refuse a dish I don’t like.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Burnley got into trouble while attending another high school when Marsh intervened to get him another chance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Japan and the US have confirmed that they jointly intervened last week to halt a slide in the yen to a fresh 40-year low.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
During one proxy-on-proxy conversation with a much older man, the bot’s human counterpart intervened: “Apparently AI doesn’t know the difference between 62 and 26. But I do,” he wrote before unmatching.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Japanese authorities have intervened to boost the yen a handful of times over the past few years.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Mark Antony would have taken his life if his friends had not intervened.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
Congress established the 39% limit in 2004, intervening after the FCC moved to raise the cap to 45%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
In the intervening years, however, a cottage industry of compounding pharmacies emerged, including Ro and Hims & Hers Health.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
But divine entities stopped intervening in man’s affairs long ago; besides, I had the answer drawn and nocked since I’d walked out of the theater days before.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
Still, the findings introduce a possible strategy for intervening earlier in individuals whose metabolic health may place them at greater risk of Alzheimer's disease.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 31, 2026
My memories were distorted by twenty-five intervening years.
From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck
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.
