convolute
Americanverb (used with or without object)
adjective
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rolled up together or with one part over another.
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Botany. coiled up longitudinally so that one margin is within the coil and the other without, as the petals of cotton.
verb
adjective
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botany rolled longitudinally upon itself
a convolute petal
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another word for convoluted
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of convolute
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin convolūtus “rolled up,” past participle of convolvere “to roll together, roll up”; see convolve
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:
In that regard, “Bridgerton” chugs deliciously along for at least five episodes before it starts to convolute and collapse on itself.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 22, 2020
To convolute matters more, the federal government does not require prisons or jails to collect data on pregnancy and childbirth among female inmates.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 24, 2020
The suit on the right includes a waist convolute, which allowed the Apollo 15–17 lunar surface crews to sit on the lunar rover.
From Slate ● Dec. 16, 2013
But these new songs don’t feel arbitrary when they warp or convolute.
From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2010
Three arm-chairs only in the little yellow room, of heavy mahogany, with snail-shaped convolute arms and the yellow covers embroidered with blue lyres, found favour in his eyes.
From Royal Highness by Thomas Mann
Concerns about the profitability of artificial-intelligence ventures, convoluted debt deals underpinning data centers, and the future of chip demand had left some on Wall Street worried that the AI trade was petering out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
This opinion was supported by David Rooney in the Hollywood Reporter, external, who wrote that the film "chugs along satisfyingly even with the occasional patch of sluggishness and the usual overly convoluted plot contortions".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
There are a number of weird swerves in this generous, if convoluted, offer from your relative.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
It’s likely to be convoluted, but can it help the Lakers?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
The syntax can be defective, convoluted, ambiguous; these are flaws that can be prevented by an awareness of the treelike nature of a sentence.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
He has disobeyed all the "rules," convoluting and twirling the plastic concrete with an insolent skill, and even using that antediluvian material glass block with flair.
From Time Magazine Archive
“A convoluting gray cloud had piled where Mount St. Helens should be,” said Bea.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
Suddenly, I realized that I was in more than any mortal danger; for the convoluting shadows about the ring were taking shape, and the death-hand was forming within the Pentacle.
From Carnacki, the Ghost Finder by William Hope Hodgson
Before them rose the fantastic, twisting, convoluting, turning spires of a tall, marvelous, glittering city.
From Collector's Item by Evelyn E. Smith
The robot held me back as Lhar advanced toward the girls, the skirt-like frill at her base convoluting as she moved.
From Where the World is Quiet by Henry Kuttner
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.
