involved

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

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of involved

1 :involute, twisted

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 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

—

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

In his appeals, Siegelman claimed that Canary had remained involved in the case after her recusal.

— jonece starr dunigan, AL.com, "1 dead in deputy involved shooting in Clay," 18 July 2017
Nearly 300 overdose deaths last year involved variants of fentanyl, according to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office.

— CBS News, "Opioid epidemic claims life of 10-year-old boy, officials say," 18 July 2017
But this involved deciding which groups to include.

— The Economist, "Identity politicsWhy China’s Communists recognise just 56 ethnic groups," 13 July 2017
His son Stefan has also gotten more involved in the family business.

— charles v. bagli, New York Times, "A Holdout Delays a Developer’s Latest High-Rise Dream," 4 July 2017
As a journalism outlet, CNN failed in its duty, and responded accordingly; there was no villainous mustache-twirling involved.

— lauren duca, Teen Vogue, "The White House Is Promoting an Anti-Journalism Conspiracy Theory," 29 June 2017
The killings of Freddie Gray, Philando Castile, Akai Gurley and Delrawn Small all involved officers of color.

— malaika jabali, Essence.com, "Milwaukee Police Officer Who Fatally Shot Sylville Smith Found Not Guilty," 22 June 2017
Clooney, Gerber, and Meldman are expected to remain involved with the company after Diageo completes its acquisition.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "George Clooney Sells Casamigos Tequila for $1 Billion," 21 June 2017
The beauty of this theory was that nobody involved knew anything about Robert Steese.

— megan rose, The Hive, "Kafka in Vegas: A Murdered Circus Star, a Dubious Confession, and America’s Prosecutorial Misconduct Epidemic," 19 June 2017

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

involved Synonyms

Synonyms

baroque, byzantine, complicate, complicated, convoluted, daedal, elaborate, intricate, involute, complex, knotty, labyrinthian, labyrinthine, sophisticated, tangled

Antonyms

noncomplex, noncomplicated, plain, simple, uncomplicated

Near Antonyms

oversimplified, simplified, simplistic; homogeneous, uniform, unvaried

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.