involved
Americanadjective
-
very intricate or complex.
an involved reply.
- Synonyms:
- tangled, knotty, complicated
- Antonyms:
- simple
-
implicated.
involved in crime.
-
concerned in some affair, especially in a way likely to cause danger or unpleasantness.
I didn't call the police because I didn't want to get involved.
-
committed or engaged, as in a political cause or artistic movement.
The civil rights demonstration attracted the involved young people of the area.
adjective
-
complicated; difficult to comprehend
an involved literary style
-
(usually postpositive) concerned or implicated
one of the men involved
-
euphemistic having sexual relations
she was involved with a number of men
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of involved
Explanation
Being involved means being a part of something or associated with it. If you volunteer on a team to clean up the playground, you're involved in making it a safer and more fun place for kids to play. Involved is an adjective with many different uses. It can describe something difficult or complicated, as in "really involved instructions for putting together a plane model," or it describes relationships and partnerships, like when you’re involved with someone in a serious dating relationship or are involved in helping out as a tutor after school. You can be involved in more negative situations, too, as when a country is involved in spying on another or a group is involved in plotting a crime.
Vocabulary lists containing involved
Thirteen Reasons Why
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"Speaking Up"
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"Kids Like Me: Voices of the Immigrant Experience"
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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.
About 200 members of the Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment, with support from 22 Royal Engineers, Royal Logistics Corp and Army helicopters have been been involved.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
“And they told me, and I was like, ‘Oh, this sounds like an interesting project, something that we ought to be involved in, and really listen to these locals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
"Those that stayed away, that's their choice to stay away, that opinion is absolutely valid, but those that wanted to come in, wanted to get involved have been able to do so."
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
David Grutman, the Miami-based hospitality maven, emphasizes having a sizable stake in businesses he is involved with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
So getting involved is very much a family thing.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.