intervention

/ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/

//ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"intervention" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“intervention” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,609. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,609
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events.

Corpus desk

Index EN-intervention · intervention · English

intervention · rank #4,609 · 19 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,609
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH instrument

Nearest frequency peer: instrument (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “intervention”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “intervention” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

intervention vs intersection
83% similar
intervention vs interception
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for intervention
PropertyValue
Headwordintervention
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#4,609
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “intervention”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).interventionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “instrument” (#4,608), “Jerry” (#4,610), “homeless” (#4,607). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “intervention” is #4,609. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around intervention (IPA /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,609 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for intervention, with forms such as "inetrvention", "inntervention", and "interevntion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "intersection", "interception", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French intervention, from Latin interventiō. Morphologically intervene + -tion. The correct English form is intervention, spelled I-N-T-E-R-V-E-N-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events.
  2. 2
    A legal motion through which a person or entity who has not been named as a party to a case seeks to have the court order that they be made a party.
  3. 3
    An orchestrated attempt to convince somebody with an addiction or other psychological problem to seek professional help and/or change their behavior.
  4. 4
    An action taken or procedure performed; an operation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how intervention appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Fernando Torres was recalled in place of the suspended Didier Drogba and he was only denied a goal in the opening seconds by Laurent Koscielny's intervention - a moment that set the tone for game filled with attacking quality and littered with errors.
  2. As I showed, although some rhetoricians, such as Mesmer and Erb, claimed that their interventions were medical treatments, others, such as Freud and Jung, claimed that their interventions were both medical curings and spiritual carings.

Etymology

From Middle French intervention, from Latin interventiō. Morphologically intervene + -tion.

This word in other languages

intervención(Español)intervention(Français)Intervention(Deutsch)intervenção(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetrvention
  • inntervention
  • interevntion
  • interrvention
  • interveniton
  • intervenntion
  • intervension
  • interventino
  • interventionn
  • interventoin
  • interventtion
  • intervetnion
  • intervnetion
  • intervvention
  • intevrention
  • intrevention
  • inttervention
  • itnervention
  • nitervention

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of intervention - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

inetrvention2inntervention1interevntion2interrvention1interveniton2intervenntion1intervension1interventino2
Edit distance from "intervention"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "intervention"?
"intervention" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-V-E-N-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/.
What does "intervention" mean?
As a noun, "intervention" means: The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events.
What words are commonly confused with "intervention"?
"intervention" is commonly confused with "intersection", "interception". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "intervention"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "intervention" is /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "intervention"?
From Middle French intervention, from Latin interventiō. Morphologically intervene + -tion. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "intervention", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

considerable#4,661conventional#4,662improvements#4,534nevertheless#4,692

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

photographer19 variantssubsequently19 variantsdemonstrated19 variantsrestrictions19 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list