intervene
verb
Simple meaning
Get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ihnterveenSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ɪntɚˈvin
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force
“Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?”
intransitive
To become involved in a situation, so as to alter or prevent an action. [with in]
ambitransitive
To say (something) in the middle of a conversation or discussion between other people, or to respond to a situation involving other people.
ambitransitive
Be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events
“This interludes intervenes between the two movements.”
Occur between other event or between certain points of time
“The war intervened between the birth of her two children.”
ambitransitive
To come between, or to be between, persons or things.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force
Used this way, intervene is a common word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Get / becomeverb
“Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?”
Placed / occurverb
“This interludes intervenes between the two movements.”
More ways to use intervene
- “Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?”verb
- “This interludes intervenes between the two movements.”verb
- “The war intervened between the birth of her two children.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.