Difference between Stir, Mingle, Intermingle, Mix and Blend

The English language verbs Stir, Mingle, Intermingle, Mix and Blend have related meanings, but they are all different, as I shall explain, using British English examples.

Stir (verb) means the action of using a tool to rotate liquid in a container.
"Place the ingredients in the bowl and stir them thoroughly."
"Please do not stir my Martini."
"I usually put one spoon of sugar in my tea, after which I stir it."

Stir can also mean to change the state of something.
"The lack of sympathy shown stirred me into action."
"The students stirred up trouble with their loud parties." 

Mingle (verb) is something that a person does to meet lots of people at an event such as a party. It implies movement around a room or venue and is a deliberate action.
"Darling, please stop talking to your mother and mingle with our guests."
"The conference last year was a good opportunity to mingle with like-minded people."
"The thief mingled with the crowd to make his escape."

Intermingle (verb) means to place things of different types together such that occurrences of one type are next to occurrences of another. For example you can intermingle English and French words in a sentence. You can intermingle students from different years in a collaboration effort. When you intermingle things, those things remain distinctly identifiable. You can't intermingle white paint with red paint, because when you put these together you produce pink paint.
"I like to intermingle jokes with the more serious elements of my speeches."
"The area where I live has people from many different countries and backgrounds intermingled."

Mix (verb) means to put things together to form something different. After mixing things they can not normally be seen individually any more.
"This spice is actually a mix of several different spices."
"Can you please mix these ingredients in the bowl?"

Mix can also be used as a noun.
"The mix of music in the club was really interesting."
"I was attracted by the mix of academic learning and sport on offer." 

Blend (verb) means to take several things and put them together to form something new in a deliberate and calculated way. It implies a thoughtful way to combine things.
"I blend blue and yellow paints to make the right shade of green."

In cooking, to blend means to chop finely or to liquidize ingredients.
"This milkshake is made by blending banana, milk, cream and sugar."

Please email me with any questions martha@ukentry.com