What is the difference between "intervene" and "interfere"?
(Sita, Chennai)
"Interfere" has a negative connotation. When you interfere in something, you are poking your nose into other people's business. You are meddling. The word carries with it the sense of obstruction or getting in the way of something. Here are a few examples.
*The slashing of funding interfered with the work on the project.
*The politician tried to interfere in the police investigation.
*I don't want you to interfere in my life.
"Intervene", on the other hand, has a much more positive connotation. When you intervene in something, you are playing a much more constructive role. This probably explains why the Americans talk about their intervention in Iraq, rather than interference. Here are a few examples.
*The lawyer intervened in the dispute and resolved the problem.
*I don't want to intervene in a dispute between a husband and a wife.
*The police intervened when the students started throwing stones at buses.
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"Britain has invented a new missile. It's called the civil servant - it doesn't work and it can't be fired." — Walter Walker
S. UPENDRAN
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