involution [in-vuh -loo -shuh n]
Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for involution on Thesaurus.com 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. Show More
Origin of involution First recorded in
1605–15, involution is from the
Medieval Latin word
involūtiōn- (stem of
involūtiō ). See
involute ,
-ion Related forms su·per·in·vo·lu·tion , noun Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for involution braid ,
tendril ,
rotation ,
involution ,
wheeling ,
volution ,
twine ,
convolution ,
lap ,
ring ,
twirl ,
spiral ,
scroll ,
twist ,
turn ,
bight ,
gyration ,
whorl ,
wind ,
circle Examples from the Web for involution Historical Examples of involution Neither evolution nor involution will ever effect the value of a unit.
No "evolution," no "involution ," no word without sense or meaning.
This is the process of the involution of life in matter, the descending arc.
Kathekosis (from Chaos-Theos-Kosmos) is to evolution what "chaogeny" is to involution .
It is Alpha, as related to involution , and Omega, as related to evolution.
British Dictionary definitions for involution 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 power Compare evolution (def. 5) grammar an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause Show More
Derived Forms involutional , 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 n. late 14c., from Latin involutionem (nominative involutio ) "a rolling up," noun of action from past participle stem of involvere (see involve ). Related: Involutional .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
involution [ĭn′və-lōō′ shən]
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 Show More
Related forms in′vo•lu′ tion•al adj. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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. Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
