English edit

Etymology edit

From Latin interiectus, perfect passive participle of intericiō (place between).

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪn.təˈdʒɛkt/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ɪn.tɚˈd͡ʒɛkt/
  • (file)
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛkt

Verb edit

interject (third-person singular simple present interjects, present participle interjecting, simple past and past participle interjected)

  1. (transitive) To insert something between other things.
  2. (transitive) To say as an interruption or aside.
    • 1791, James Boswell, “(please specify the year)”, in The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. [], volume I, London: [] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, [], →OCLC, pages 474-475:
      He roared with prodigious violence against George the Second. When he ceased, Moody interjected, in an Irish tone, and with a comick look, “Ah! poor George the Second.”
    • 1848, Anne Brontë, “Chapter 24”, in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall[1]:
      ‘Please, sir, Richard says one of the horses has got a very bad cold, and he thinks, sir, if you could make it convenient to go the day after to-morrow, instead of to-morrow, he could physic it to-day, so as—’
      ‘Confound his impudence!’ interjected the master.
    • 1934, Olaf Stapledon, “East is West”, in Sam Moskowitz, editor, Far Future Calling: Uncollected Science Fiction and Fantasies of Olaf Stapledon[2], published 1979:
      As I listened I interjected an occasional sentence of Japanese translation for our guests.
    • 21 August 2000, Julian Barnes, “The Hardest Test: Drugs and the Tour de France”, in The New Yorker[3]:
      Virenque, in a panicky mishearing, replied, “Me a dealer? No, I am not a dealer.” [] Whereupon Virenque’s lawyer interjected, “No, Richard, the judge said leader. It’s not an offense to be a leader.”
  3. (intransitive) To interpose oneself; to intervene.

Synonyms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit