intervene

verb

in·​ter·​vene ˌin-tər-ˈvēn How to pronounce intervene (audio)
intervened; intervening

intransitive verb

1
: to occur, fall, or come between points of time or events
only six months intervened between their marriage and divorce
2
a
: to interfere with the outcome or course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve functioning)
b
: to come in or between by way of hindrance or modification
intervene to stop a fight
3
: to enter or appear as an irrelevant or extraneous feature or circumstance
it's business as usual until a crisis intervenes
4
: to occur or lie between two things
5
a
: to become a third party to a legal proceeding begun by others for the protection of an alleged interest
b
: to interfere usually by force or threat of force in another nation's internal affairs especially to compel or prevent an action
Choose the Right Synonym for intervene

interpose, interfere, intervene, mediate, intercede mean to come or go between.

interpose often implies no more than this.

interposed herself between him and the door

interfere implies hindering.

noise interfered with my concentration

intervene may imply an occurring in space or time between two things or a stepping in to stop a conflict.

quarreled until the manager intervened

mediate implies intervening between hostile factions.

mediated between the parties

intercede implies acting for an offender in begging mercy or forgiveness.

interceded on our behalf

Examples of intervene in a Sentence

Twenty years intervened between their first and last meetings. The prisoner asked me to intervene with the authorities on his behalf. The military had to intervene to restore order. We will leave on time unless some crisis intervenes.
Recent Examples on the Web The shifting sands of human politics, economics and more continue to disturb these bones more than did the intervening 80 million years since some last strode the earth. Dennis Harvey, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 Trump and Pence publicly split after the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, with Pence refusing to try to intervene in Congress' certification of the 2020 election. USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024 The Sun Devils were tracking for a No. 9 or 10 seed before the pandemic intervened. Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2024 Alvaro Martin-Perez, 48, was trying to intervene in a dispute between roommates when he was fatally stabbed, according to Westminster Police Sgt. Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 This agency must be empowered with authority to intervene swiftly, just as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board do during banking crises. Jonathan Slotkin and David Vawdrey, STAT, 14 Mar. 2024 The only solution, Brewer said, is for the U.S. military to intervene, arguing the U.S. could easily defeat the gangs and create a new level of stability in the country. Michael Lee, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2024 Lucre first came to national attention last July when Elon Musk personally intervened to reinstate his account despite the fact that Lucre posted child exploitation images just days earlier, going against company policy. David Gilbert, WIRED, 11 Mar. 2024 Several officers intervened and a struggle ensued, police said. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'intervene.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin intervenire to come between, from inter- + venire to come — more at come

First Known Use

1587, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of intervene was in 1587

Dictionary Entries Near intervene

Cite this Entry

“Intervene.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intervene. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

intervene

verb
in·​ter·​vene ˌint-ər-ˈvēn How to pronounce intervene (audio)
intervened; intervening
1
: to happen as an unrelated event
rain intervened and we canceled the game
2
: to come between points of time or between events
barely one minute intervened between the two phone calls
3
: to come between in order to stop, settle, or change
intervene to stop a fight
4
: to be or lie between
intervening hills
intervention noun

Legal Definition

intervene

intransitive verb
in·​ter·​vene ˌin-tər-ˈvēn How to pronounce intervene (audio)
intervened; intervening
1
: to occur, fall, or come between points of time or events
may be held liable even though other independent agencies intervene between his negligence and the ultimate resultHooks Superx, Inc. v. McLaughlin, 642 N.E.2d 514 (1994)
2
a
: to come in or between by way of hindrance or modification
intervene to stop a fight
b
: to become a party to a legal proceeding begun by others in order to protect an alleged interest in the subject matter of the proceeding
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue was granted leave to interveneP. A. Freund
compare implead, interplead, join
intervenor noun

More from Merriam-Webster on intervene

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