involution

American  

[in-vuh-loo-shuhn] / ˌɪn vəˈlu ʃən /

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.

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involution British  

/ 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

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involution Scientific  

/ ĭn′və-lo̅o̅′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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Other Word Forms

• involutional adjective
• superinvolution noun

Etymology

Origin of involution

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

Example Sentences

This process is called thymic involution, and it reduces the body's ability to produce new T cells.

From Science Daily

He observes, for example, that “in one of the strange involutions of the modern age, we go onto the internet to see what’s the matter with the internet.”

From The Wall Street Journal

This is “involution,” a once esoteric term that has come to define life for many in China and capture the biggest problems in the world’s second-largest economy.

From The Wall Street Journal

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

From 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.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• braid
• tendril