Showing results for involve. Search instead for Involv.

Synonyms

involve

American

[in-volv] / ɪnˈvɒlv /

verb (used with object)

to include as a necessary circumstance, condition, or consequence; imply; entail.

This job involves long hours and hard work.

Synonyms:

demand, require, necessitate
to engage or employ.
to affect, as something within the scope of operation.
to include, contain, or comprehend within itself or its scope.
to bring into an intricate or complicated form or condition.
to bring into difficulties (usually followed bywith ).

The investigation discovered a plot to involve one nation in a war with another.
to cause to be troublesomely associated or concerned, as in something embarrassing or unfavorable.

Don't involve me in your quarrel!

Antonyms:

extricate
to combine inextricably (usually followed bywith ).
to implicate, as in guilt or crime, or in any matter or affair.
to engage the interests or emotions or commitment of.

The professor involved many students in the disarmament movement.
Her husband became involved with another woman.
to preoccupy or absorb fully (usually used passively or reflexively).

You are much too involved with the problem to see it clearly.
to envelop or enfold, as if with a wrapping.
to swallow up, engulf, or overwhelm.
1. Archaic. to roll, surround, or shroud, as in a wrapping.
2. to roll up on itself; wind spirally; coil; wreathe.

involve British

/ ɪnˈvɒlv /

verb

to include or contain as a necessary part

the task involves hard work
to have an effect on; spread to

the investigation involved many innocent people
(often passive; usually foll by in or with) to concern or associate significantly

many people were involved in the crime
(often passive) to make complicated; tangle

the situation was further involved by her disappearance
rare to wrap or surround
obsolete maths to raise to a specified power

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

involve Idioms

see get involved with.

Synonym Usage

Involve, entangle, implicate imply getting a person connected or bound up with something from which it is difficult to be freed. To involve is to bring more or less deeply into something, especially of a complicated, embarrassing, or troublesome nature: I'd rather not to involve someone else in my debt. To entangle (usually passive or reflexive) is to involve so deeply in a tangle as to confuse and make helpless: The candidate tended to entangle himself in a mass of contradictory statements. To implicate is to connect a person with something discreditable or wrong: She was implicated in a plot to assassinate the governor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of involve

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English involven, from Latin involvere “to roll in or up,” equivalent to in- in- ² + volvere “to roll”; see revolve

Explanation

To involve means to connect. When you get involved in the Spanish Club, you attend meetings and events. If doing math well is involved in understanding advanced chemistry, that means it's a necessary part of it. When someone is very involved, it means they are engaged or connected to a lot of activities. When someone is self-involved, all they connect with is him or herself. If getting ice cream involves walking a mile to the ice cream shop, the exercise offsets the indulgence. When no exercise is involved, it's less healthy.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing involve

Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 5

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

The New SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

involve involves involved involving

The deal could involve SK Hynix leasing Intel’s planned manufacturing plant in Ohio or forming a joint venture, according to a Reuters report, which added that any agreement could face South Korean government opposition.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament on Wednesday she wanted to work on "opening the door" for Canada, which would involve closer ties on various key sectors.

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

Aerial footage showed a large fire that appeared to involve shipping containers and cars, and the wreckage of a helicopter, whose mangled tail and rotors could be seen in the flames.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

It definitely didn’t involve going to 12-step meetings and swimming laps at seven in the morning.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026

Now that he was trying to involve me, I started to see a whole other side of the movement.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

In June, Israel and Lebanon signed a US-sponsored framework agreement that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon's south and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Perhaps the most striking discovery involves the animal's tail.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026

Materne also pointed out that cybersecurity vendors are expanding partnerships with AI labs, particularly for run-time security, which involves protecting actively running systems.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

The project also involves training local anglers and boat skippers to tag sharks too, so that they can contribute to the work.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

‘If it involves you then I do need to worry.’

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

They arrived through painstaking reporting by ProPublica and The New Yorker’s Dexter Filkins and were confirmed in meaningful respects by the people involved.

From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2026

This will celebrate the "resilience, service and unconquered spirit" of those involved in the sports events for injured service personnel.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Two of the authors involved in that paper also threw cold water on the idea that the Hugging Face swarm hack by OpenAI agents occurred because of a breakthrough in intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

“I want to get more people involved with this character. Speaking through Baby Judge Judy would be a whole lot of fun, but you need the right writer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

By “this stuff,” Eisman meant the stocks of companies involved in subprime lending.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Two seedlings from the last known wild dendroseris neriifolia tree have arrived at Logan Botanic Garden in Dumfries and Galloway after an international rescue effort involving experts in Chile and the UK.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

The same mechanism involving melting and the upward movement of liquid may also help explain activity elsewhere in the solar system.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

Thousands of people Vance says will be permanently banned from receiving federal loans due to allegations of past fraudulent activity involving Covid-era loan facilities, such as the Paycheck Protection Program.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

UNIFIL, currently involving around 7,500 peacekeepers from nearly 50 countries, has been deployed since 1978.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Besides, that furrier sold us a scented oil he uses to trap mountain lions, and who can resist a plan involving a mountain lion?

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023