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involution

[in-vuh-loo-shuh n]
See more synonyms for involution on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an act or instance of involving or entangling; involvement.
  2. the state of being involved.
  3. something complicated.
  4. Botany, Zoology.
    1. a rolling up or folding in upon itself.
    2. a part so formed.
  5. Biology. retrograde development; degeneration.
  6. Physiology. the regressive changes in the body occurring with old age.
  7. Grammar. a complex construction in which the subject is separated from its predicate by intervening clauses or phrases.
  8. Mathematics. a function that is its own inverse.
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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. 2018

Related Words

braidtendrilrotationinvolutionwheelingvolutiontwineconvolutionlapringtwirlspiralscrolltwistturnbightgyrationwhorlwindcircle

Examples from the Web for involution

Historical Examples

  • Neither evolution nor involution will ever effect the value of a unit.

    Life: Its True Genesis

    R. W. Wright

  • 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.

    The Mystery of Space

    Robert T. Browne

  • It is Alpha, as related to involution, and Omega, as related to evolution.

    The Mystery of Space

    Robert T. Browne

British Dictionary definitions for involution

involution

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 powerCompare evolution (def. 5)
  7. grammar an involved construction, such as one in which the subject is separated from the predicate by an additional clause
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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

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 in Medicine

involution

(ĭn′və-lōō′shən)
n.
  1. A decrease in size of an organ, as of the uterus following childbirth.
  2. The ingrowth and curling inward of a group of cells, as in the formation of a gastrula from a blastula.
  3. A progressive decline or degeneration of normal physiological functioning occurring as a result of the aging process.catagenesis
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Related formsin′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 in Science

involution

[ĭn′və-lōō′shən]
  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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.