Synonyms

involve

American

[in-volv] / ɪnˈvɒlv /

verb (used with object)

to include as a necessary circumstance, condition, or consequence; imply; entail.

This job involves long hours and hard work.

Synonyms:

demand, require, necessitate
to engage or employ.
to affect, as something within the scope of operation.
to include, contain, or comprehend within itself or its scope.
to bring into an intricate or complicated form or condition.
to bring into difficulties (usually followed bywith ).

The investigation discovered a plot to involve one nation in a war with another.
to cause to be troublesomely associated or concerned, as in something embarrassing or unfavorable.

Don't involve me in your quarrel!

Antonyms:

extricate
to combine inextricably (usually followed bywith ).
to implicate, as in guilt or crime, or in any matter or affair.
to engage the interests or emotions or commitment of.

The professor involved many students in the disarmament movement.
Her husband became involved with another woman.
to preoccupy or absorb fully (usually used passively or reflexively).

You are much too involved with the problem to see it clearly.
to envelop or enfold, as if with a wrapping.
to swallow up, engulf, or overwhelm.
1. Archaic. to roll, surround, or shroud, as in a wrapping.
2. to roll up on itself; wind spirally; coil; wreathe.

involve British

/ ɪnˈvɒlv /

verb

to include or contain as a necessary part

the task involves hard work
to have an effect on; spread to

the investigation involved many innocent people
(often passive; usually foll by in or with) to concern or associate significantly

many people were involved in the crime
(often passive) to make complicated; tangle

the situation was further involved by her disappearance
rare to wrap or surround
obsolete maths to raise to a specified power

"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

involve Idioms

see get involved with.

Synonym Usage

Involve, entangle, implicate imply getting a person connected or bound up with something from which it is difficult to be freed. To involve is to bring more or less deeply into something, especially of a complicated, embarrassing, or troublesome nature: I'd rather not to involve someone else in my debt. To entangle (usually passive or reflexive) is to involve so deeply in a tangle as to confuse and make helpless: The candidate tended to entangle himself in a mass of contradictory statements. To implicate is to connect a person with something discreditable or wrong: She was implicated in a plot to assassinate the governor.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of involve

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English involven, from Latin involvere “to roll in or up,” equivalent to in- in- ² + volvere “to roll”; see revolve

Explanation

To involve means to connect. When you get involved in the Spanish Club, you attend meetings and events. If doing math well is involved in understanding advanced chemistry, that means it's a necessary part of it. When someone is very involved, it means they are engaged or connected to a lot of activities. When someone is self-involved, all they connect with is him or herself. If getting ice cream involves walking a mile to the ice cream shop, the exercise offsets the indulgence. When no exercise is involved, it's less healthy.

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Vocabulary lists containing involve

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

involve involves involved involving

While her least favourite of the sprint disciplines, that continues to involve winters focused on shaving time off her 60m best, which she again lowered this season to 7.04 - the eighth-fastest worldwide this year.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Most infections are asymptomatic, but about one in 100 involve neuroinvasive disease: meningitis, encephalitis or paralysis.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

The second-largest bank in the nation by assets said the initiative would involve lending and investing, as well as capital markets, banking and advisory work all to support a “new wave of infrastructure investment.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

A rule might involve reversing the digits or eliminating numbers above a certain value.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I cannot. To explain would involve breaking a trust and I am not willing to do that, not even for you.”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

This technique, called "doping," involves introducing a small amount of another material to produce specific properties.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

Geothermal, which involves tapping into Earth’s underground heat to spin turbines, looks a lot like nuclear in that it can produce clean electricity 24 hours a day.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

He professed a fondness for Tupac Shakur and electronic dance music, discussed UFO sightings around U.S. military installations and admitted his ideal fall Saturday involves spending hours watching college football.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

This usually involves one or two defenders inside the penalty area, along with the goalkeeper.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

“Unless,” said Akimi, “it involves running with a rolling suitcase.”

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Education Secretary Lucy Powell said she was "deeply shocked and saddened" and urged people to "remember there are real people with loved ones involved".

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have been deeply involved in the project.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

Later, they became involved with a label that was embroiled in a lawsuit, which proved to be yet another dead-end.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026

Forty-six of the cases tallied by The Post involved Flock equipment.

From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026

As for their governess, Miss Penelope Lumley: Her preparations involved making a trip to the kitchen for a flask of cold, fresh milk and a large supply of biscuits.

From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood

In a randomized clinical trial involving adults with overweight, participants who followed an ad libitum low-fat vegan diet substantially reduced the number of calories per gram of food they consumed.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026

The CMS is overseeing more than 800,000 cases in England, Scotland and Wales, involving more than a million children.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The findings come from a new Nature study involving 15 biomedical research institutions across the United States.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Another major fire, which engulfed vineyards and olive groves on the Peljesac peninsula further south, was also brought under control on Friday evening, following a fierce battle involving 240 firefighters and three planes.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Archaeologists have traced the beginnings of theater back as far as 2500 BCE, to the ancient Egyptians and sacred plays involving the myth of the god Osiris and his wife Isis.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023