Meaning of intervention in English

intervention

noun

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˌɪn.təˈven.ʃən/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˌɪn.t̬ɚˈven.ʃən/

the action of becoming intentionally involved in a difficult situation, in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse:

Half the people questioned said they were opposed to military intervention in the civil war.

Repeated interventions on the currency markets failed to prevent the currency's value falling.

[ C ] medical, psychology specialized

a meeting at which someone with a drug or alcohol problem is asked by family members, friends, or health workers to accept the fact that they have a problem and is encouraged to get treatment:

A medical professional can advise family members of the most appropriate times to stage an alcohol intervention.

[ C ]

an occasion when someone's friends or family speak to them about a problem or situation because the person's behaviour is unreasonable or harmful:

humorous He's been playing that video game all day. I think it's time for an intervention.

More examples

There is still some hope that the economic blockade will work and make military intervention unnecessary.
The government was reluctant to sanction intervention in the crisis.
The border dispute was used as a pretext for military intervention.
England have fallen so far behind in the championship that their only hope of victory is divine intervention.
Imposing sanctions is a moderate action when you consider that the alternative is military intervention.
His manager staged an intervention, forcing him into one of two rehab stays.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Taking part and getting involved

See more results »

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Addiction

Drug addiction

Medical treatment: general words

Want to learn more?

Improve your vocabulary with English Vocabulary in Use from Cambridge.
Learn the words you need to communicate with confidence.

See

intervene

(Definition of intervention from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

intervention | American Dictionary

intervention

noun [ C/U ]

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˌɪn·tərˈven·ʃən/

the act or fact of becoming involved intentionally in a difficult situation:

[ C ] The intervention by UN troops prevented fighting from breaking out.

(Definition of intervention from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

intervention | Business English

intervention

noun [ C or U ]

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

/ˌɪntəˈvenʃən/ us

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio

involvement in a difficult situation in order to improve it or prevent it from getting worse, or an occasion when this is done:

intervention in sth Any intervention in the currency markets has to be followed by a tightening of monetary policy.

government/regulatory/state intervention This comprehensive program is aimed at reducing state intervention in the economy.

(Definition of intervention from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of intervention

intervention

There was evidence that patients were exposed to the planned intervention.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Patients diagnosed with depression, or mixed anxiety and depression, for whom a brief psychological intervention was indicated.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They depict housing processes in relatively unfettered markets with comparatively few government regulations and direct intervention.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A rapid review of the evidence base to support school nursing interventions is reported and developments for future research are indicated.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is clear here that the two parties reached an agreement and made a shared compact through the intervention of mediators.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Alternatively, higher early depression scores in the intervention group could reflect a failure of randomization or simple random fluctuation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The behaviorally oriented intervention produced significant reductions in coercive parenting and improvements in positive parenting.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

If removed and rebuilt, no longer would this be our 'truthful' modern intervention into the 'authentic' existing condition.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It prioritizes community needs yet is based on a willingness to target interventions at the individual, community or systems level.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Participants in both intervention and control groups showed significant improvement in mood symptoms over time.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Honore suggests that dropping the paper is worse because of the kind of conduct that it is, namely, an intervention to make things worse.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

He found that serious injury was rare following an incident as either intervention or luck tended to prevent significant harm in the majority of cases.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Practitioners are trained to recognize these differences and apply them to developmental interventions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Detecting and describing preventive intervention effects in a universal school-based randomized trial targeting delinquent and violent behavior.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Consequently, interventions may affect factors not targeted by program components and these nontargeted effects may inform developmental theories.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of intervention

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.