involve

[in-volv]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR involve ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), in·volved, in·volv·ing.

to include as a necessary circumstance, condition, or consequence; imply; entail: This job involves long hours and hard work.

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 by with): 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!

to combine inextricably (usually followed by with).

to implicate, as in guilt or crime, or in any matter or affair.

to engage the interests or emotions or commitment of: to become involved in the disarmament movement; to become 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.

Archaic.to roll, surround, or shroud, as in a wrapping.
to roll up on itself; wind spirally; coil; wreathe.

Origin of involve

1350–1400; Middle English involven < Latin involvere to roll in or up, equivalent to in- in-² + volvere to roll; see revolve

Related formsin·volve·ment, nounin·volv·er, nounin·ter·in·volve, verb (used with object), in·ter·in·volved, in·ter·in·volv·ing.non·in·volve·ment, nouno·ver·in·volve, verb (used with object), o·ver·in·volved, o·ver·in·volv·ing.pre·in·volve, verb (used with object), pre·in·volved, pre·in·volv·ing.pre·in·volve·ment, nounre·in·volve, verb (used with object), re·in·volved, re·in·volv·ing.re·in·volve·ment, noun

Synonyms for involve

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR involve ON THESAURUS.COM

1. necessitate, require, demand. 6, 7, 9. Involve, entangle, implicate imply getting a person connected or bound up with something from which it is difficult to extricate himself or herself. To involve is to bring more or less deeply into something, especially of a complicated, embarrassing, or troublesome nature: to involve someone in debt. To entangle (usually passive or reflexive) is to involve so deeply in a tangle as to confuse and make helpless: to entangle oneself in a mass of contradictory statements. To implicate is to connect a person with something discreditable or wrong: implicated in a plot.

Antonyms for involve

7. extricate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for involving

prove, suggest, engage, commit, associate, embroil, require, contain, cover, catch, link, connect, relate, mean, affect, hold, implicate, comprise, concern, incorporate

Examples from the Web for involving

Contemporary Examples of involving

Moraca pointed to another form of return fraud, involving gift cards.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks
M.L. Nestel
December 19, 2014
Even extreme beauty — and even the best of bodies and most involving pictures of them — can become repetitive.
Young, Hot, and Nude: Ryan McGinley’s Body Count
Tim Teeman
October 6, 2014
There will be a meeting at the White House tomorrow involving over 40 countries that works on that.
Meet America’s New Top Ebola Fighter
Abby Haglage
September 26, 2014
In fact, Lauer even ended up with a character arc of his own, involving his reluctance to utter the word “sharknado.”
‘Sharknado 2’ in Winter: Has the Franchise Jumped the Shark?
Jason Lynch
July 28, 2014
The most common aura is visual, involving light sensitivity or blurred vision.
How to Destroy Your Headaches
Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad
June 23, 2014

Historical Examples of involving

I should think so—involving the Ambassador of a foreign power!
The Secret Agent
Joseph Conrad
Tell her, to-night, what you know of her danger as involving her child and her father.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
But no, Robbie was better away; he could only clear him of this guilt by involving his father.
The Shadow of a Crime
Hall Caine
It seemed to be of parting, and the hope of reunion, involving one named Irene.
The Duke Of Chimney Butte
G. W. Ogden
To keep the ship going he had been involving himself deeper every year.
End of the Tether
Joseph Conrad

British Dictionary definitions for involving

involve

verb (tr)

to include or contain as a necessary partthe task involves hard work

to have an effect on; spread tothe investigation involved many innocent people

(often passive; usually foll by in or with) to concern or associate significantlymany people were involved in the crime

(often passive) to make complicated; tanglethe situation was further involved by her disappearance

rare, often poetic to wrap or surround

maths obsolete to raise to a specified power

Derived Formsinvolvement, nouninvolver, noun

Word Origin for involve

C14: from Latin involvere to roll in, surround, from in- ² + volvere to roll

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 involving

involve

late 14c., "envelop, surround," from Latin involvere "envelop, surround, overwhelm," literally "roll into," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + volvere "to roll" (see volvox). Originally "envelop, surround," sense of "take in, include" first recorded c.1600. Related: Involved; Involving.

Idioms and Phrases with involving

involve

see get involved with.