Etymology : Latin intervenire to come between, from inter- + venire to come; more at COME
Pronunciation : "in-t&r-'vEn
Function : intransitive verb
Date : 1587
1. interpose; interfere, mediate, step in; happen between other events; occur, take place; occur unexpectedly. intervene\in`ter*vene"\, v. t. to come between. [r.] self-sown woodlands of birch, alder, etc., intervening the different estates.intervene \in`ter*vene"\ , n. a coming between; intervention; meeting. [obs.] h. wotton.intervene \in`ter*vene"\ , v. i. [imp. & p. p. intervened ; p. pr. & vb. n. intervening.] [l. intervenire, interventum, to intervene, to hinder; inter between + venire to come; akin to e. come: cf. f. intervenir. see:
come.].
2. to come between, or to be between, persons or things; -- followed by between; as, the mediterranean intervenes between europe and africa.
3. to occur, fall, or come between, points of time, or events; as, an instant intervened between the flash and the report; nothing intervened ( i. e., between the intention and the execution) to prevent the undertaking.
4. to interpose; as, to intervene to settle a quarrel.
5. in a suit to which one has not been made a party, to put forward a defense of one's interest in the subject matter.intervene get involved, usually so as to hinder or halt an action; "why did the u.s. not intervene earlier in ww ii?" [syn: step in, interfere, interpose].
6. To come between, or to be between, persons or things; followed by between; as, the Mediterranean intervenes between Europe and Africa.
7. To occur, fall, or come between, points of time, or events; as, an instant intervened between the flash and the report; nothing intervened to prevent the undertaking.
8. To interpose; as, to intervene to settle a quarrel.
9. In a suit to which one has not been made a party, to put forward a defense of one's interest in the subject matter.
10. To come between.
11. A coming between; intervention; meeting. occur between other event or between certain points of time; "the war intervened between the birth of her two children" 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?" be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events; "This interludes intervenes between the two movements"; "Eight days intervened".
12. 1. If you intervene in a situation, you become involved in it and try to change it. The situation calmed down when police intervened The Government is doing nothing to intervene in the crisis.
13. If you intervene, you interrupt a conversation in order to add something to it. Hattie intervened and told me to stop it `I've told you he's not here,' Irena intervened.
14. If an event intervenes, it happens suddenly in a way that stops, delays, or prevents something from happening. The South African mailboat arrived on Friday mornings unless bad weather intervened.