To intermingle means to mix together or blend with something else. When different groups of people intermingle at a party, they don't stay in separate clusters but instead mix and talk with each other. When colors intermingle in a painting, they blend and swirl together rather than staying in neat, separate sections.

Think of what happens when you pour cream into coffee: the white and brown intermingle until they become one smooth color. Or imagine two lines of students from different classes walking into an assembly: if they intermingle, kids from both classes end up scattered throughout the crowd instead of sitting in two distinct groups.

The word emphasizes the mixing of things that started out separate. Red and blue paints intermingle to create purple. At recess, older and younger students might intermingle on the playground. Stories from different cultures have intermingled throughout history, with ideas and characters crossing borders and blending together.

You can also use intermingled as an adjective to describe things already mixed together: “The museum displayed intermingled artifacts from three ancient civilizations.”