Meaning & use
interject
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
to interrupt a conversation suddenly with a remark or comment
Grammar: Can be used with or without an object: She interjected a question. / He interjected suddenly.
Patterns
- interject something
- interject with something
- interject that ...
She interjected a witty comment during the meeting.
He interjected that the plan was too risky.
Please don't interject while I'm speaking.
verbtransitive
to add a remark into a conversation or text
Grammar: Often followed by 'into': interject a remark into the discussion.
Patterns
- interject something into something
- interject a remark
The editor interjected a few comments into the margin.
She interjected a joke into the serious discussion.
Word forms
| third person singular | interjects |
|---|---|
| past tense | interjected |
| past participle | interjected |
| -ing form | interjecting |
Common combinations
- interject a comment
- He interjected a comment about the weather.
- interject with a question
- She interjected with a question about the budget.
- interject suddenly
- He interjected suddenly, surprising everyone.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- interjection noun
- A short remark or a word like 'wow' used as an exclamation.
Commonly confused: interject or interrupt?
interject vs interrupt
You can interrupt a person or an event, but you interject a remark or comment; 'interrupt' does not take a comment as its object.
Practice
During the debate, she _____ that the statistics were outdated.
Choose one answer.
You interject a remark or a statement. 'Interrupted' would need a person or event as object (interrupted the speaker). 'Interfered' means getting involved in a way that is not wanted, and 'interjected with' would need a noun phrase like 'a comment', not a clause.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interject”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.