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:
Prevent was set up 20 years ago to try to identify future potential terrorists and intervene in their lives, often by challenging hateful ideologies such as far right extremism or support for jihadist violence.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
He also contended it is too late for judges to intervene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Japan normally sells some of its huge pile of Treasury debt to intervene.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
Meanwhile, county officials have stepped back — for now — from earlier threats to intervene and possibly force more immediate budget cuts upon the nation’s second-largest school system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
His mother had to intervene to put a brake on his stream of orders.
From "Tiger, Tiger" by Lynne Reid Banks
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
But it suggested that Beijing views an amphibious assault on Taiwan as risky and likely to fail, particularly if the U.S. intervenes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 2026
Out in the yard, the two kids start arguing over the bubble wand, and their mom intervenes.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
This will include a referee's description of why they have given a decision, or the VAR's direct reasoning for why they have not intervened.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
When the model replied that “believing harder” wasn’t a viable strategy for attacking the Riemann hypothesis, Sumner intervened: “You need to believe in yourself.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Burnley got into trouble while attending another high school when Marsh intervened to get him another chance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
"This is extremely important to the PM and he has personally intervened to ensure everything possible is being done so that vile groomers are dealt with in the way their victims deserve."
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
As she was about to put her full body weight on the rope—which would have pulled Beidleman off—Mike Groom intervened in the nick of time and gently scolded her for being so impatient.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Those have included intervening in the currency markets to support the Japanese yen, a move that could in turn reduce pressure on Japan’s government to sell U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The question is whether we can last the intervening two and a half years.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 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
I took up my place behind a yew-tree, and I saw his dark figure move until the intervening headstones and trees hid it from my sight.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
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.
