intervening

verb

present participle of intervene
as in interfering
to act as a go-between for opposing sides intervened in the argument before any real harm was done

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of intervening The midterms are raising fresh questions about the federal government’s role in election security, and where to draw the line between protecting the vote and intervening in the electoral process. — Lauren Morganbesser, semafor.com, 3 Nov. 2026 Yet certain stalwart kid pleasures have been reimagined in the intervening decades. — Molly Fischer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026 The intervening years have offered opportunities to discover and demonstrate more of that completeness. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Nov. 2026 Hussein Talib, former Director General of the Oil Products Distribution Company, was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison in a related case for intervening in awarding contracts for personal gain. — ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026 Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ended up intervening, the story says. — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 25 Oct. 2026 But that narrative around obsolescence has largely receded in the intervening months, as strong earnings expectations and new AI products and partnerships out of the sector revived investor confidence. — Sarah Min, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026 Immediately intervening in a friendship disagreement may not always be helpful, especially when a teen primarily needs someone to listen. — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2026 In the intervening years, Rice has been producing movies like Saturday Night and Warfare. — Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intervening
  1. interfering
  2. mediating
  3. interceding
Verb
  • The Republican representatives are also requesting an update on former Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who was charged with interfering in public procurement for road construction.
    — Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro also warned Canada last month against interfering in the midterms.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of interfering
Verb
  • Coming to Saudi’s defense is nevertheless complex calculation for Pakistan, which has played a key role in mediating between Iran – its neighbor and backer of the Houthis – and the US, since the US and Israel launched their war with Iran.
    — Sophia Saifi, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Lovely Butterfly moves between the tactility of personal letters and abstraction of aerial digital maps, mediating the scales of intimacy and distance.
    — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of mediating
Verb
  • Diamantis was accused of interceding twice for Acranom on a project at Weaver High School in Hartford, once during a dispute over the quality of the company’s work and again in their effort to obtain a second contract.
    — Edmund H. Mahony, Hartford Courant, 14 Sep. 2026
  • However, almost all of the respondents who agreed with this statement envisioned the National Guard interceding nonviolently to stop violent protests and riots.
    — Ryan Kennedy, The Conversation, 13 Oct. 2025
Definition of interceding

Browse Nearby Words

intervenes
intervening
interview
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Intervening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intervening. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of valorous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All