ə̇nˈv]älv, ]ȯlv also ]ä(u̇)v or ]ȯv transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English involven, from Latin involvere to wrap, envelop, from in- in- (II) + volvere to roll — more at voluble
1. archaic : to enfold or envelop so as to encumber
the number of difficulties in which this question is involved — Benjamin Jowett
2.
a. : to draw in as a participant : engage , employ
size of operations and … numbers of workmen involved — G.M.Trevelyan
an organization … heavily involved in the nation's defense program — R.J.Cordiner
kings were constantly involved in Continental affairs — G.G.Coulton
he got involved in a lawsuit
b. : to oblige to become associated (as in an unpleasant situation) : embroil , entangle , implicate
led the English … to involve India in the war — D.W.Brogan
the controversies … moved on in all their ugliness to involve others — John Mason Brown
c. : to occupy (oneself) absorbingly ; especially : to commit (oneself) emotionally — usually used with in or with
we simply don't see enough of her characters … to feel personally involved in what they say or feel or do — Dan Wickenden
she … never had the slightest intention of involving herself with him — Aurelia Levi
3.
a. archaic : to enclose in a covering : wrap
the embryo is still farther involved, in two membranes — Oliver Goldsmith
b. : to surround as if with a wrapping : envelop , shroud
rights and privileges at the root … are discovered to be involved in doubt — B.N.Cardozo
involved in a howling dancing crowd — Arthur Morrison
4. : to complicate or make intricate in thought or form
5.
a. archaic : to wind, coil, or wreathe about : entwine
around me they involved a giddy dance — P.B.Shelley
b. : to relate closely : connect , link
the problem is closely involved with the management of pastures — Allan Fraser
6.
a. : to have within or as part of itself : contain , include
tragic opera … must involve convincing treatment of an elemental conflict — Opera News
two late-arriving costumes … involve magnificent brocaded coats covering deceptively casual sheaths — Lois Long
a community program involving recreational, cultural, and economic … features — American Guide Series: North Carolina
this course involves a discussion of the trial rules of evidence — Loyola University Bulletin
b. : to require as a necessary accompaniment : entail , imply
building their own roads … involved the construction of over 200 bridges — Joseph Millard
diseases … which involve long hospitalization — Cecile Starr
changing those attitudes involved a job of mass education — Stanley Frank
a mission which involves much danger — T.B.Costain
fusion involves disparate materials … arranged so as to work together — College English
insensitiveness involves a meagerness of imagination in human relations — Albert Dasnoy
c. : to have an effect on : concern directly : affect
biological processes … like breathing and digesting, involve the whole organism — H.J.Muller
lacerations that involve muscles or cause severe hemorrhage — H.G.Armstrong
the problem … involves their future — Harrison Smith
work stoppages … involved more than 100 thousand workers — Collier's Year Book
is never really three-dimensional, hence his conflicts do not involve the reader — Frances Keene
7. : fill
a fire building so involved with heat, smoke and flame that immediate access to the interior is not possible — W.Y.Kimball
drawings … involved with color become either water colors or pastels — Carlyle Burrows
8. : to engross or occupy fully : absorb
involved in these imaginings she knew nothing of time — Thomas Hardy
Synonyms: see include