involution

[ in-vuh-loo-shuh n ]

/ ˌɪn vəˈlu ʃən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR involution ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.

the state of being involved.

something complicated.

Botany, Zoology.

a rolling up or folding in upon itself.
a part so formed.

Biology. retrograde development; degeneration.

Physiology. the regressive changes in the body occurring with old age.

Grammar. a complex construction in which the subject is separated from its predicate by intervening clauses or phrases.

Mathematics. a function that is its own inverse.

Nearby words

involute, involute gear, involute teeth, involuted, involutely, involution, involutional, involutional melancholia, involutional psychosis, involve, involved

Origin of involution

First recorded in 1605–15, involution is from the Medieval Latin word involūtiōn- (stem of involūtiō). See involute, -ion

Related formssu·per·in·vo·lu·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for involution

If, however, the links are in involution, these forces become infinite or indeterminate.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 17, Slice 8|Various
And their correspondences in every stage of involution or the descent of spirit into matter are eternal and kosmic.
The Mystery of Space|Robert T. Browne
Neither evolution nor involution will ever effect the value of a unit.
Life: Its True Genesis|R. W. Wright
Ecks was executing a series of caricatures illustrating the involution of Hodgkins' face back into a crab-apple.
The Incendiary|W. A. (William Augustine) Leahy

The arrest, or involution, normal to the girl, does not occur in him.
Feminism and Sex-Extinction|Arabella Kenealy

British Dictionary definitions for involution

involution

/ (ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən) /

noun

the act of involving or complicating or the state of being involved or complicated

something involved or complicated

zoology degeneration or structural deformation

biology an involute formation or structure

physiol reduction in size of an organ or part, as of the uterus following childbirth or as a result of ageing

an algebraic operation in which a number, variable, expression etc, is raised to a specified powerCompare evolution (def. 5)

grammar an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause

Derived Formsinvolutional, adjective

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

Word Origin and History for involution

involution

late 14c., from Latin involutionem (nominative involutio) "a rolling up," noun of action from past participle stem of involvere (see involve). Related: Involutional.

Medicine definitions for involution

involution

[ ĭn′və-lōō′shən ]

n.

A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.

The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

A progressive decline or degeneration of normal physiological functioning occurring as a result of the aging process.catagenesis

Related formsin′vo•lu′tion•al adj.

Science definitions for involution

involution

[ ĭn′və-lōō′shən ]

A mathematical operation, such as negation, which, when applied to itself, returns the original number.

The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.

A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.

involution

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of involution

Examples from the Web for involution

British Dictionary definitions for involution

involution

noun

Word Origin and History for involution

involution

Medicine definitions for involution

involution

n.

Science definitions for involution

involution