intervene

American  

[in-ter-veen] / ˌɪn tərˈvin /

verb (used without object)

intervened, intervening

1. to come between disputing people, groups, etc.; intercede; mediate.

   Synonyms:

   interpose, arbitrate

2. to occur or be between two things.

3. to occur or happen between other events or periods.

   Nothing important intervened between the meetings.

4. (of things) to occur incidentally so as to modify or hinder.

   We enjoyed the picnic until a thunderstorm intervened.

5. to interfere with force or a threat of force.

   to intervene in the affairs of another country.

6. Law. to interpose and become a party to a suit pending between other parties.

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intervene British  

/ ˌɪntəˈviːn /

verb

1. (often foll by in) to take a decisive or intrusive role (in) in order to modify or determine events or their outcome

2. to come or be (among or between)

3. (of a period of time) to occur between events or points in time

4. (of an event) to disturb or hinder a course of action

5. economics to take action to affect the market forces of an economy, esp to maintain the stability of a currency

6. law to interpose and become a party to a legal action between others, esp in order to protect one's interests

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Other Word Forms

• intervener
  noun
• reintervene
  verb (used without object)
• unintervening
  adjective

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.

Example Sentences

The carnage is sparking lawsuits, investigations and debate inside AI companies over when and how to intervene.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

“What’s interesting is that Japan did it during a very low-liquidity week, so threatening to intervene when markets are thin, in theory, should give you a bigger spot bang for the buck.”

From MarketWatch • May 2, 2026

Federal Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who must decide whether OpenAI -- the creator of ChatGPT -- betrayed its original nonprofit mission, had to intervene several times to compel the world's richest man to answer questions.

From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026

Maryland didn’t have much chance to intervene before the U.S.

From Slate • Apr. 27, 2026

Randall was soon forced to intervene to formally separate them, like bickering children.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• arbitrate
• intercede
• interfere
• involve
• meddle
• negotiate