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

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

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

Bougatef's declaration, which came in what is called a Section 5 report, set in motion a process that could see outside intervention in the wake of no solution.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

John Canavan, lead analyst at Oxford Economics said the response to the government's intervention was "unsurprisingly short-lived".

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

Market relief at the unexpected intervention could prove short-lived as it fails to address concerns about high levels of debt and government spending, analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Seen in this light, Mr. Bessent’s bond intervention isn’t a challenge to Mr. Warsh’s hands-off approach to the government debt market, but rather a sign that Mr. Warsh’s approach is starting to work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The regent had not forgotten that it was due to my father’s intervention that he had become acting paramount chief.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

"At which point children could be routed towards Prevent interventions or other appropriate safeguarding responses," Dame Rachel said in a statement.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

That advisory cited the United Kingdom’s landmark Cass Review, which in 2024 said there was “not a reliable evidence base” for families or doctors to make informed decisions about these medical interventions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Their goal is to identify effective treatments and determine the best timing for possible interventions.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

The fire service received 300 calls and performed 85 interventions, especially in southern Granada and the city's metropolitan area, said Antonio Sanz, the Andalusia region's top emergencies official.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Radical genetic interventions could only be imagined in radically egalitarian societies.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• interference
• mediation