involution

C2+ Topic:Abstract Ideas

US /ˌɪnvəˈluʃən/ UK /ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the quality of being intricate or entangled, or a complicated detail

The critic struggled to follow the involutions of the novel's plot.
2

noun
an inward curling, folding, or coiling, or the shape it produces

The artist drew each involution of the folded ribbon.
3

noun
medicine: the shrinking of an organ back towards an earlier size

The textbook describes uterine involution after childbirth.
4

noun
mathematics: a function that returns every input to its original value when applied twice

Negation is an involution because negating a number twice returns the original number.
5

noun
grammar: a complicated construction with clauses or phrases nested within one another

The editor replaced the sentence's involutions with two straightforward clauses.

3 more meanings

6

noun
physiology: regressive changes in the body associated with ageing

The lecture contrasted growth in adolescence with involution in later life.
7

noun
social science: intensifying competition or effort within a system that yields little overall progress

The essay calls the cycle of longer working hours without greater rewards involution.
8

noun
embryology: the inward movement of a sheet of cells over another cell layer during early development

The diagram shows how involution carries the cell sheet into the developing embryo.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of being... intricacy complexity

4 noun · mathematics: a function... self-inverse function

More convolution entanglementcoilingregression

Opposites

evolution simplification unfolding

Word family

Derived forms involutional

Related forms involute involve convolution

Etymology

From Latin involutio, from involvere 'to roll up, wrap' (from in- 'in' plus volvere 'to roll').

involutio Latin volvere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Abstract Ideas Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# involution

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnvəˈluʃən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnvəˈluːʃən/

## Meanings
1. the quality of being intricate or entangled, or a complicated detail
2. an inward curling, folding, or coiling, or the shape it produces
3. medicine: the shrinking of an organ back towards an earlier size
4. mathematics: a function that returns every input to its original value when applied twice
5. grammar: a complicated construction with clauses or phrases nested within one another
6. physiology: regressive changes in the body associated with ageing
7. social science: intensifying competition or effort within a system that yields little overall progress
8. embryology: the inward movement of a sheet of cells over another cell layer during early development

## Examples
- The critic struggled to follow the involutions of the novel's plot.
- The artist drew each involution of the folded ribbon.
- The textbook describes uterine involution after childbirth.
- Negation is an involution because negating a number twice returns the original number.
- The editor replaced the sentence's involutions with two straightforward clauses.
- The lecture contrasted growth in adolescence with involution in later life.
- The essay calls the cycle of longer working hours without greater rewards involution.
- The diagram shows how involution carries the cell sheet into the developing embryo.

## Synonyms
- complexity
- intricacy
- convolution
- entanglement
- coiling
- regression

## Antonyms
- evolution
- simplification
- unfolding

## Derived Forms
- involutional

## Related Forms
- involute
- involve
- convolution

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: involutio
- Root: volvere

## Etymology
From Latin involutio, from involvere 'to roll up, wrap' (from in- 'in' plus volvere 'to roll').

## AI Etymology
Involution comes from Latin involutio, from involvere 'to roll up, wrap' (from in- 'in' plus volvere 'to roll'). The etymological trail includes Latin involutio and Latin volvere. As a noun, involution means the state of being intricate; a curling inward or shrinking process. The same family is visible in derived forms such as involutional and related forms such as involute, involve, and convolution.

## Topics
- Abstract Ideas
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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