supervene
verb
su·per·vene
ˌsü-pər-ˈvēn 
supervened; supervening
: to follow or result as an additional, adventitious, or unforeseen development
Examples of supervene in a Sentence
They had a quiet, happy life until the war supervened.
it was not the slow-spreading cancer that caused his death but a supervening heart attack
Recent Examples on the Web
The reaction One aftereffect Stanley likely did not forecast was the supervening middle-school bullying.
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Scott Hocker, theweek, 8 Feb. 2024
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Scott Hocker, theweek, 8 Feb. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Supervene.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supervene. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
supervene
verb
su·per·vene
ˌsü-pər-ˈvēn
supervened; supervening
: to take place as an additional or unlooked-for development
Medical Definition
supervene
intransitive verb
su·per·vene
ˌsü-pər-ˈvēn
supervened; supervening
: to follow or result as an additional, adventitious, or unlooked-for development (as in the course of a disease)
the majority of patients die once this complication supervenes—Scientific American Medicine
Scientific American MedicineLegal Definition
supervene
intransitive verb
su·per·vene
ˌsü-pər-ˈvēn
supervened; supervening
: to take place after or later in the course of something else as an additional and usually unforeseeable development with intervening or countering effect
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