Origin: 1350–1400;Middle Englishinvolven < Latininvolvere to roll in or up, equivalent to in-in-2 + volvere to roll; see revolve
Related forms
in·volve·ment, noun
in·volv·er, noun
in·ter·in·volve, verb (used with object), in·ter·in·volved, in·ter·in·volv·ing.
non·in·volve·ment, noun
o·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, noun
re·in·volve, verb (used with object), re·in·volved, re·in·volv·ing.
re·in·volve·ment, noun
Synonyms 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.
1382, from L. involvere "entangle, envelop," lit. "roll into," from in- "in" + volvere "to roll" (see vulva). Originally "envelop, surround," sense of "take in, include" first recorded 1605. Involved "complicated" is from 1643.