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involution

Syllabification: (in·vo·lu·tion)
Pronunciation: /ˌinvəˈlo͞oSHən/

Definition of involution

noun

  • 1 Physiology the shrinkage of an organ in old age or when inactive, e.g., of the uterus after childbirth.
  • 2 Mathematics a function, transformation, or operator that is equal to its inverse, i.e., which gives the identity when applied to itself.
  • 3 formal the process of involving or complicating, or the state of being involved or complicated:periods of artistic involution

Derivatives

involutional

Pronunciation: /-SHənl/

adjective

involutionary

Pronunciation: /-ˌnerē/

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English (in the sense '[part] curling inward'): from Latin involutio(n-), from involvere (see involve)

involution in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of involution in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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