involution

[in-vuh-loo-shuhn]

noun

1. an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.

2. the state of being involved.

3. something complicated.

4. Mathematics.,  a function that is its own inverse.

5. Botany, Zoology.

   1. a rolling up or folding in upon itself.

   2. a part so formed.

6. Biology.,  retrograde development; degeneration.

7. Physiology.,  regressive changes in the body, as those occurring with old age.

8. Anthropology, Sociology.,  growth without evolution, as in a growing agrarian society with increased field labor whose production mechanisms become more complex without increasing yield; diminishing returns.

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

involution

/ ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən /

noun

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

2. something involved or complicated

3. zoology degeneration or structural deformation

4. biology an involute formation or structure

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

6. an algebraic operation in which a number, variable, expression etc, is raised to a specified power Compare evolution

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

involution

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• superinvolution noun
• involutional adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of involution¹

First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin involūtiōn- (stem of involūtiō “a rolling up; a screw, spiral”); involute, -ion

Example Sentences

Chinese workers often invoke the word neijuan, or “involution,” to describe working harder for little to no gains.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Later, after the game, I confirmed that I have written specifically about what’s called ‘involution of the thymus’ on my blog in October 2018.

Read more on Seattle Times

“It turns out I just took up another kind of involution.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"If this can't be halted, the trends in place could lead to a progressive and unsustainable involution of the human capital of most of southern Italy."

Read more on Reuters

They can continue to struggle in the rat race of Chinese society, making little progress in an approach known as neijuan, or “involution,” the process of turning inward in a self-defeating competition with others.

Read more on Washington Post

Related Words

• braid 
• tendril