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
The imbricate and the convolute modes sometimes vary one into the other, especially in the corolla.
From The Elements of Botany For Beginners and For Schools by Asa Gray
In Crompton’s joyful and witty stories, however convoluted their plots, things come right in the end—if not for everyone, always for just William.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Politics is maths and Germany is no different, even if the maths can be quite convoluted.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Another clear indication of a franchise running on fumes is that its most appealing element is now increasingly convoluted and tedious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Social Security claiming strategies can be somewhat convoluted, and claiming benefits based on an ex-spouse’s record does not make the situation any simpler.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
The more convoluted the story lines, the more I liked them, and I imagined that all the long-suffering heroines looked like me, or rather, that I looked like them.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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
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
Before them rose the fantastic, twisting, convoluting, turning spires of a tall, marvelous, glittering city.
From Collector's Item by Evelyn E. Smith
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.
