involved

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

|Updated on: 20 Aug 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

NBC News reported in December that the U.S. has evidence Putin was personally involved and closely supervised aspects of the operation.

— ken dilanian /, NBC News, "The timing, the proof, the details: Takeaways from Mueller's new indictments," 13 July 2018
That’s why all of the promotional images around the season involved fire, from the key art of June's winged bonnet aflame to the teaser, which featured June surrounded by embers.

— refinery29.com, "What That Frustrating Handmaid's Tale Finale Means For Season 3," 11 July 2018
None of the fatalities in 2017 involved Georgia residents.

— helena oliviero, ajc, "Why fireworks in Georgia boom well after the 4th of July," 10 July 2018
This trade rift that has now turned out to be more a lot more involved has obviously accelerated that.

— Fox News, "Rep. Tom Cole on the impact of tariffs on US farmers," 6 July 2018
My first trip to Sicily in the ’70s involved dinner at a place called La Botte.

— evan kleiman, latimes.com, "Cucina Italiana: The joy of eggplant. Try making a timbale," 5 July 2018
Step one of this involved pressing wet fabric against the ink to transfer an exact copy of the words onto the plate.

— joe pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, "The Science of Saving the Declaration of Independence," 3 July 2018
Similar to Rabiot, its method involved eating food daubed with the colors of opposing teams.

— billy perrigo, Time, "'Psychic' Octopus That Correctly Predicted Japan's World Cup Results Is Killed and Sold for Food," 2 July 2018
Janice was the matriarch of the extended Somerville Lumber family; from company picnics to family events or grants from the Cohen Foundation to Somerville employees, Janice was always deeply involved.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 6/30," 30 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.