involve

[ in-volv ]

verb (used with object)

, in·volved, in·volv·ing.

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

   This job involves long hours and hard work.

   Synonyms: demand, require, necessitate

2. to engage or employ.
3. to affect, as something within the scope of operation.
4. to include, contain, or comprehend within itself or its scope.
5. to bring into an intricate or complicated form or condition.
6. to bring into difficulties (usually followed by with ):

   The investigation discovered a plot to involve one nation in a war with another.

7. to cause to be troublesomely associated or concerned, as in something embarrassing or unfavorable:

   Don't involve me in your quarrel!

   Antonyms: extricate

8. to combine inextricably (usually followed by with ).
9. to implicate, as in guilt or crime, or in any matter or affair.
10. 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.

11. to preoccupy or absorb fully (usually used passively or reflexively):

    You are much too involved with the problem to see it clearly.

12. to envelop or enfold, as if with a wrapping.
13. to swallow up, engulf, or overwhelm.
14. 1. Archaic. to roll, surround, or shroud, as in a wrapping.
    2. to roll up on itself; wind spirally; coil; wreathe.

involve

/ ɪnˈvɒlv /

verb

1. to include or contain as a necessary part

   the task involves hard work

2. to have an effect on; spread to

   the investigation involved many innocent people

3. often passive; usually foll by in or with to concern or associate significantly

   many people were involved in the crime

4. often passive to make complicated; tangle

   the situation was further involved by her disappearance

5. rare.
   to wrap or surround
6. obsolete.
   maths to raise to a specified power

Derived Forms

• inˈvolvement, noun
• inˈvolver, noun

Other Words From

• in·volve·ment noun
• in·volv·er noun
• in·ter·in·volve verb (used with object) interinvolved interinvolving
• o·ver·in·volve verb (used with object) overinvolved overinvolving
• pre·in·volve verb (used with object) preinvolved preinvolving
• re·in·volve verb (used with object) reinvolved reinvolving

Word History and Origins

Origin of involve¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of involve¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

see get involved with .

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Plans would involve both schools being expanded at a cost of about £20m, most of which would come from contributions from housing developers, with some council funding.

From BBC

Prior to the election, we got a lot of stories about the Democratic Party's ground operations, which often involve strangers knocking on doors.

From Salon

"It will involve figuring out how to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars and the care of millions of members of the US military and civilians and their families."

From BBC

"This is a job that will involve thousands of hours of advising the president and how, when and under what circumstances to use military force," Mara Karlin, a former senior Pentagon official during the Biden administration, said.

From BBC

The Delhi government has enacted its Graded Response Action Plan - which bans all activities that involve the use of coal and firewood, as well as diesel generator use for non-emergency services - but that has not saved the city from experiencing toxic levels of pollution.

From BBC

Related Words

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