involved

adjective in·volved \ in-ˈvälvd , -ˈvȯlvd also -ˈvävd or -ˈvȯvd \

|Updated on: 11 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: involved in a Sentence

Definition of involved

1 a : having a part in something : included in something

unable to identify those who were involved

She was involved in a lawsuit.

b : actively participating in something

an involved citizen active in local politics

c : having a romantic or sexual relationship

warned her not to get romantically involved

2 a : marked by extreme and often needless or excessive complexity

a long and involved story

b : difficult to deal with because of complexity or disorder

Her husband had been extravagant; and at his death … had left his affairs dreadfully involved.
—Jane Austen

3 : being affected or implicated

… dealing with … the most severely involved patients
—R. J. Thomas

4 obsolete : involute, twisted

—

involvedly

play \in-ˈväl-vəd-lē, -ˈvȯl- also -ˈvä-vəd- or -ˈvȯ-\ adverb

See involved defined for English-language learners

See involved defined for kids

Examples of involved in a Sentence

a long and involved story
The instructions for assembling the toy are very involved.
The process is quite involved.
Those of us who were involved knew exactly what happened.
Students who stay involved get more out of the program.
If you want to make things better, you need to get involved.
They quickly became romantically involved.
No one knew that they were involved.

Recent Examples of involved from the Web

This one involved mice that were already showing symptoms of dementia.

— stacey burling, Philly.com, "An asthma drug shows promise against Alzheimer's," 8 June 2018
The framework, according to the source involved in the negotiations, instead will create a commission to broadly study California’s healthcare needs.

— john myers, latimes.com, "Boost in spending for homelessness in budget deal reached by governor, legislative leaders," 8 June 2018
The modest £12m fee involved would likely allow the deal to go through with minimal pressure or expectation, but some are still far from convinced by the Swiss international's pedigree or work ethic.

— SI.com, "Fans Divided Over Shock Transfer Rumour Linking Liverpool to Relegated Premier League Star," 7 June 2018
By far the most common incident, reported by nearly half of hotel workers surveyed, involved guests answering the door naked or exposing themselves.

— alexia elejalde-ruiz, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago hotels roll out panic button systems to protect housekeepers from sexual harassment," 7 June 2018
On Friday, at Trek's request, a California judge agreed to move the case to U.S. District Court in Madison, Wisconsin, closer to the involved parties, witnesses and evidence, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

— lisa gutierrez, kansascity, "Chris Farley's family sues Trek for using his 'fat guy' image for fat-tire bikes," 6 June 2018
The other 4 to 9 spots are open to involved citizens, business owners, committee or board members, and builders or developers to provide a broad cross-section of the community.

— karen huppertz, ajc, "Norcross seeking volunteers for committee openings," 5 June 2018
Some involved security, like an iOS HomeKit bug that would have allowed hackers to control smart-home products remotely.

— brian barrett, WIRED, "The Best Part of Apple's WWDC Keynote Is What Wasn't There," 4 June 2018
There are a lot of really interesting medical device companies, a lot of prominent tech people involved in medical.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: WSJ investigative journalist John Carreyrou on Recode Decode," 3 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'involved.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of involved

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 4

See Words from the same year

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involved Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of involved

complex, complicated, intricate, involved, knotty mean having confusingly interrelated parts. complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure.