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:
Arizona Department of Water Resources Director Tom Buschatzke announced Friday that the state filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit by the neighboring state.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
"The doctors believe it would be right to intervene," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
Bitter rivals are forming alliances and executives are having to personally intervene over the scramble for resources to fuel the AI boom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
"I can't intervene more in the process, it would be wrong for me to do that."
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
In general, they weren’t ones to intervene in matters outside schooling, expecting early on that my brother and I should handle our own business.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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
We can see Houghton’s play in these moments, but then Alloway’s cheeky pop sensibility intervenes, the arch artificiality and ironic tone draining the emotional impact.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026
One-third of the nation’s coal fleet plans to retire over the next five years, unless someone intervenes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
“I think what Clara is trying to say,” Dad intervenes, “is that this could be a good opportunity for us as a family.”
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
Players from both teams intervened, and the episode was documented on video by the NFL.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
After gaining entry, he "intervened with the assistance of a cabin crew member and several passengers, and together they rescued the injured captain and restrained the suspect".
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
Riyadh's military coalition intervened to support the government the following year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The paper says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed the passengers who intervened as "lions", and declared Machchhar a "true hero" of "extraordinary bravery".
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Luckily, my mother kept a cooler head and intervened.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
"That this coming event is worse than that, after three intervening global bleaching events ... is a terrifying reality," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
Upon arriving, the statues discover that Rome has undergone more than a few changes over the intervening centuries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
It just so happened that in the intervening 25 minutes, there had been no more rain, so the track was pretty dry by the time the race started.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
FTC officials say Amazon has secretly inflated the minimum prices required to win ad placements, intervening in auctions to raise the price 70% to 80% of the time.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
In the intervening years, the program had advanced a great deal, but it still got little respect beyond the West Coast.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
