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intervention

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

12 characters

Language

English

word origin

Source

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "intervention", 12-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "intervention" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "intervention" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

intervention is aEnglishnoun. It means: The action of intervening; interfering in some course of events. Pronounced /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/. It ranks #4,609 in English word frequency. Often confused with intersection and interception.

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 rank visualization

Position of intervention in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for intervention is 12 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,609 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text.Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 19 documented wrong-spelling variants for intervention, with forms such as "inetrvention", "inntervention", and "interevntion". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.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. Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is intervention, spelled I-N-T-E-R-V-E-N-T-I-O-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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.

Etymology

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

This word in other languages

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

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for intervention

Misspelling Variants of "intervention"

inetrvention12inntervention13interevntion12interrvention13interveniton12intervenntion13intervension12interventino12
Misspelling Variants of "intervention"

Frequency rank: #4,609 in English

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.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter I in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.