intervention

American  

[in-ter-ven-shuhn] / ˌɪn tərˈvɛn ʃən /

noun

• interventions
  plural

1. 

   the act or fact of coming or occurring between two people, things, or times.

   Squabbling siblings generally work things out themselves, but this fight called for parental intervention.

   Even the intervention of 20 years hadn’t erased their mutual dislike.

2. interposition or interference of one state in the affairs of another.

   The UN’s prohibition of armed intervention in the civil war can easily be criticized as antihumanitarian.

3. a planned confrontation of someone engaging in self-destructive behavior, such as substance abuse, to convince them to seek treatment.

   She thought her drinking was a well-kept secret until she came home to find six of her siblings and friends ready to conduct an intervention.

4. Education. a targeted short-term teaching strategy for students with specific needs.

   Reading interventions kept several of her students from having to switch to remedial classes.

5. Medicine/Medical. a treatment, procedure, or other action taken to prevent or treat disease, or to improve health in other ways.

   The patient has responded well to nonpharmacological interventions for high blood pressure.

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intervention British  

/ ˌɪntəˈvɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act of intervening

2. any interference in the affairs of others, esp by one state in the affairs of another

3. economics the action of a central bank in supporting the international value of a currency by buying large quantities of the currency to keep the price up

4. commerce the action of the EU in buying up surplus produce when the market price drops to a certain value

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reintervention
  noun
• interventional
  adjective
• interventionary
  adjective
• prointervention
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• interventions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of intervention

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin interventiōn-, stem of interventiō “interruption, occurrence”; equivalent to intervene + -tion

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Explanation

An intervention is the act of inserting one thing between others, like a person trying to help. You could be the subject of a school intervention if your teachers call your parents about the bad grades you've been hiding. Intervention comes from the Latin intervenire, meaning "to come between, interrupt." Often an intervention is intended to make things better, like the US government's intervention to give food and aid to Haiti after the earthquake. One common use of the word refers to a specific type of meeting, or intervention, that happens with the family and friends of a drug addict; they join together to try to convince the drug user to change their ways and live a healthier life.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intervention interventions

Crucial intervention to deny Moises Caicedo a clear sight at goal at the other end.

From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026

Several times plush toys have fallen off shelves with seemingly no intervention.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

The researchers emphasize that their intervention did more than lower blood sugar.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Taylor’s intervention suggests “that Memphis voters don’t know what their best interests are,” said Martavius Jones, who was chair of the Memphis City Council when the city ordinance passed.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Once the war was over, many Americans felt that the country’s intervention in Europe had been a mistake, never to be repeated.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

But more drastic interventions may be required to put organizations on firm financial footing, said Michael J. Bobbitt, the recently appointed president and CEO of Opera America.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

When tested in older mice, these interventions produced encouraging results.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

But he said the real question is whether the vaccine is “a melanoma product, or is this one of those new cancer interventions that may have benefit in a diverse set of cancers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

After seven rounds of Premier League games there have been 21 VAR interventions, with nine of those subjective.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Constructive interventions would have been good not only for African Americans trapped in ghettos, but also for blue-collar workers of all colors, many of whom were suffering too, if less severely.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

• interference
• mediation

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