involved 1 of 2

involved

2 of 2

verb

past tense of involve
1
as in affected
to be the business or affair of this isn't something that involves you, so don't worry about it

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective involved differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of involved are complex, complicated, intricate, and knotty. While all these words mean "having confusingly interrelated parts," involved implies extreme complication and often disorder.

a rambling, involved explanation

When is it sensible to use complex instead of involved?

In some situations, the words complex and involved are roughly equivalent. However, complex suggests the unavoidable result of a necessary combining and does not imply a fault or failure.

a complex recipe

When is complicated a more appropriate choice than involved?

The synonyms complicated and involved are sometimes interchangeable, but complicated applies to what offers great difficulty in understanding, solving, or explaining.

complicated legal procedures

Where would intricate be a reasonable alternative to involved?

While in some cases nearly identical to involved, intricate suggests such interlacing of parts as to make it nearly impossible to follow or grasp them separately.

an intricate web of deceit

In what contexts can knotty take the place of involved?

The meanings of knotty and involved largely overlap; however, knotty suggests complication and entanglement that make solution or understanding improbable.

knotty ethical questions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of involved
Adjective
First of all, thank you for always being an involved participant in our Bake Club. Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 4 Sep. 2025 Here's how those involved are rebuilding their lives. Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025
Verb
Other suggestions included improving the coordination between the Missouri Department of Mental Health and children’s division and educating workers on the best options when fentanyl is involved. Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2025 Yet Blanc’s real faith lies in the nearly mystic quality involved in seeing what the human animal is capable of. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for involved
Recent Examples of Synonyms for involved
Adjective
  • The Music City Loop combines multiple complicated aspirations dreamed up by Musk, and few of them have succeeded at accomplishing the feat they were created for.
    Charles Singh, Nashville Tennessean, 5 Sep. 2025
  • The death sets off a chain of events that forces Lilian to revisit her fractured family life and complicated bond with her ex-husband.
    Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • For the most detailed and accurate soil tests, send your samples to a soil lab.
    Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Together the trio will execute their detailed schemes.
    Joan MacDonald, Forbes.com, 6 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Biden’s autopen signature was used to issue major clemency orders in the final two months of his term that affected more than 4,000 individuals, including drug offenders and those placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The airport also confirmed that colleagues would remain on-site late into the night to assist those affected.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • In order to embolden and support his organization, bin Laden often videotaped himself with messages aimed at his target audience, established training centers in Afghanistan, had an expansive funding network that included wealthy individuals, couriers, mosques and other complex ways to raise funds.
    Richard Frankel, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2025
  • His criminal history included three felony convictions, according to a USA TODAY review of court documents.
    Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Carney said his and Jerome’s first trip to Finland interested two companies in Mooresville.
    Joe Marusak, Charlotte Observer, 6 Sep. 2025
  • What interested me about Warren’s book was the emotional honesty and the intimacy of an artist that most people didn’t realize was going through one of the most painful times of his life.
    Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 30 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • After Downton wrapped in 2015, Dockery starred as a con artist recently out of prison in the drama series Good Behavior, and in Netflix’s western miniseries Godless in 2019.
    Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 11 Sep. 2025
  • She’s matched wonderfully by Cooke, who leans into her actual Manchester accent to give Cherry a stroppy, sarcastic bent and whose body looks absolutely banging wrapped in an array of oxblood, maroon, and cerise minidresses.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • The shift would send states scrambling and complicate parents’ efforts to get young children vaccinated ahead of the coming respiratory virus season.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 14 Aug. 2025
  • The district has tried to be conservative on replacing items as efforts to form a fire territory complicate issues of investment and ownership.
    Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 8 July 2025
Adjective
  • When my father showed the then-curator of the Musée d’Horlogerie the enamels in our collection, she was blown away by the exquisite quality and intricate details of our enamels and jeweled pieces.
    Kyle Roderick, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
  • This image depicts intricate frost formations on the frozen surface of Lake Harriet during an Arctic Blast in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on January 20, 2025.
    Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Involved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/involved. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.

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