Instances where someone stops something that was happening or speaks before someone else finishes talking.
From Latin 'interrumpere'—'inter' (between) plus 'rumpere' (to break). The root captures the violence of breaking something that was continuous, first recorded in English around 1400.
Studies show people interrupt others unequally based on gender and power—it's not just rude, it's a window into social hierarchies, which is why linguists study interruption patterns to understand who holds conversational control.
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