involve
Formsinvolves, involving, involved
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5To twist things together in a confusing way, or to pull someone into a difficult situation.
Like two strings that get twisted together and are hard to pull apart.
The lawsuit involved the family in years of trouble.
One bad loan can involve a bank in serious problems.
Similarimplicate, entangle, mingle, blend, merge
Oppositeextricate, disentangle, separate
Note
- 6To cover or wrap something completely so it cannot be seen.
Thick smoke involved the burning house.
My love involves the love before; / My love is vaster passion now; / Tho' mix'd with God and Nature thou / I seem to love thee more and more.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In MemoriamHere, involves means surrounds and wraps up completely.Similarenvelop, enwrap, enfold
Note
- 7To wind or roll something around into rings or folds.
The snake involved itself around the low branch.
[S]ome of Serpent kinde / Wondrous in length and corpulence involv'd / Thir Snakie foulds, and added wings.
1667, John Milton, Paradise LostHere, involved means rolled or twisted into coils.Note
- 8To make something complicated or hard to understand.
His long answer only involved the question further.
The distribution and configuration of the land, together with the influence of the winds, greatly involve the problem of the tides, and render it one of the most difficult in the whole range of physics.
1848, Thomas Milner, “Tides and Oceanic Highways”Here, involve means make complicated or tangled.Note
- 9To multiply a number by itself a certain number of times.
Involve two to the fifth power and you get thirty-two.
He involved ten to the third power to get one thousand.
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of involve apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From Latin involvere, meaning to roll up or wrap up, made from in- ('in, within') plus volvo ('to roll'). It came into English through Middle English and Old French.