involution

noun

in·​vo·​lu·​tion ˌin-və-ˈlü-shən 

1

a(1)

: the act or an instance of enfolding or entangling : involvement

(2)

: an involved grammatical construction usually characterized by the insertion of clauses between the subject and predicate

b

: complexity, intricacy

2

: exponentiation

3

a

: an inward curvature or penetration

b

: the formation of a gastrula by ingrowth of cells formed at the dorsal lip

4

: a shrinking or return to a former size

5

: the regressive alterations of a body or its parts characteristic of the aging process

skeletal involution due to loss of estrogens at menopause

involutional

ˌin-və-ˈlü-sh(ə-)nəl 

adjective

Synonyms

• complexity
• complexness

Examples of involution in a Sentence

the involution of the thriller's plot made it hard to follow

Recent Examples on the Web

Weekly analysis and insights from Asia’s largest economy in your inbox Subscribe now In an annual government work report delivered in March, Chinese Premier Li Qiang called for efforts to halt involution, echoing a directive from a high-level Politburo meeting in July last year. —Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 18 Apr. 2025

Firms and factories race to produce the same products and barely make any profit—a phenomenon known in China as nei juan, or involution. —Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2024

Reviewers began to accuse her of involution, pretension, and self-entrancement. —Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023

In a challenging economic environment, AI has become less about revolution and more about involution, and many startups are using it to make small efficiency improvements, hoping to gain enough of an edge to stay competitive. —Lavender Au, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023

This is curiously analogous to the cultural involution which Jews also underwent during this period. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2012

China’s hyper-competitive schools and workplaces have given rise to movements like ‘lying flat’ and ‘involution,’ which symbolize young people’s growing rejection of its cutthroat systems. —Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2022

Lying flat and involution are not just online fodder, experts say; symptoms of passive resistance are popping up across Chinese society. —Grady McGregor, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2022

The opposite of evolution, a process of involution spirals in on itself, trapping its participants. —Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English involucioun "wrapping of a bandage, twist or coil of an organ, anatomical fold or entanglement," borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin; Middle French involucion "state of something rolled up on itself, confusion, complications hindering the prosecution of a lawsuit," borrowed from Medieval Latin involūtiōn-, involūtiō "twist or coil of an organ, covering, wrapping up, envelopment, complexity, obscurity," going back to Latin, "a spiral, screw," from involū-, variant stem of involvere "to move by rolling, roll back on itself, enclose in a covering, wrap up" (Medieval Latin, "to engage in an affair or occupation, implicate, ensnare") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at involve

First Known Use

circa 1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Rhymes for involution

• absolution
• allocution
• attribution
• comminution
• constitution
• contribution
• convolution
• destitution
• devolution
• diminution
• dissolution
• distribution

Kids Definition

involution

noun

in·​vo·​lu·​tion ˌin-və-ˈlü-shən 

: intricacy sense 1, complexity

Medical Definition

involution

noun

in·​vo·​lu·​tion ˌin-və-ˈlü-shən 

1

a

: an inward curvature or penetration

b

: the formation of a gastrula by ingrowth of cells formed at the dorsal lip

2

: a shrinking or return to a former size

involution of the uterus after pregnancy

3

: the regressive alterations of a body or its parts characteristic of the aging process

specifically : decline marked by a decrease of bodily vigor and in women by menopause