intervention

noun in·ter·ven·tion \ ˌin-tər-ˈven(t)-shən \

Definition of intervention

plural interventions

: the act or an instance of intervening

the intervention of divine providence

: such as

a : the act of interfering with the outcome or course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve functioning)

educational intervention

surgical interventions

Some women fear a specific intervention, such as being induced, having an emergency cesarean section or going through a forceps delivery.
—Paula Spencer

b : the interference of a country in the affairs of another country for the purpose of compelling it to do or forbear doing certain acts

… obscures Eisenhower's decisive personal role in converting the CIA from an intelligence agency into an instrument for American intervention around the world.
—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.

c : an occurrence in which a person with a problem (such as a drug addiction) is confronted by a group (as of friends or family members) whose purpose is to compel the person to acknowledge and deal with the problem

stage/mount an intervention

Coaching colleagues and former players pleaded with him to reengage with the game, to no avail, until 1989, when a number of them prepared to stage an intervention.
—Alexander Wolff

First Known Use of intervention

15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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INTERVENTION Defined for Kids

intervention

noun in·ter·ven·tion \ ˌin-tər-ˈven-shən \

Definition of intervention for Students

: the act or fact of taking action about something in order to have an effect on its outcome

The dispute required intervention.

Medical Dictionary

intervention

noun in·ter·ven·tion \ ˌint-ər-ˈven-chən \

medical Definition of intervention

: the act or fact or a means of interfering with the outcome or course especially of a condition or process (as to prevent harm or improve functioning)

Many patients with a flail mitral leaflet present with acute severe mitral regurgitation and pulmonary edema, requiring prompt surgical intervention.
—Catherine M. Otto, The Journal of the American Medical Association, 14 Aug. 2013

Another helpful postpartum intervention is the inexpensive, uterine-contracting drug misoprostol, which has been shown by research in India to prevent up to half of all postpartum hemorrhaging if administered within a few minutes after delivery.
—Judith F. Helzner, Ms. Magazine, Summer 2008

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intervene

play \-ˈvēn\ intransitive verb intervened; intervening

- Chemoprevention is the attempt to use natural and synthetic compounds to intervene in the early precancerous stages of carcinogenesis, before invasive disease begins.
- —Peter Greenwald, Scientific American, September 1996

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interventional

play \-ˈvench-(ə-)nəl\ adjective

- Interventional radiologists perform surgery guided by X-ray images to stop bleeding from the intestines, prevent some strokes and treat other problems.
- —Lawrence K. Altman, The New York Times, 19 June 2007
- … these agents are given while preparations for thrombolytic therapy or interventional cardiac catheterization are being made.
- —E. William Hancock, Scientific American Bulletin, November 1994

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interventionist

play \-ˈven-chə-nist\ noun or adjective

- Stange et al. recently discovered that family physicians are more interventionist in their screening than the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends.
- —John M. Lee, The New England Journal of Medicine, 11 Feb. 1993

Law Dictionary

intervention

noun in·ter·ven·tion \ ˌin-tər-ˈven-chən \

legal Definition of intervention

: the act or an instance of intervening; specifically : the act or procedure by which a third party becomes a party to a pending proceeding between other parties in order to protect his or her own interest in the subject matter of the suit — compare impleader, interpleader, joinder

Note: Intervention developed as a procedure in equity courts. There is some overlap between joinder and intervention because of the merger of law and equity in federal practice.

— intervention of right

: intervention allowed in federal civil procedure when a statute grants an absolute right to intervene or when the applicant claims an interest in the subject of the proceeding that the applicant may be impeded from protecting by the disposition of the proceeding

Note: Intervention of right will not be granted if the court considers that the applicant's interest is already adequately represented.

— permissive intervention

: intervention allowed in federal civil procedure when a statute grants a conditional right to intervene or when the applicant's claim has a question of law or fact in common with the proceeding