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to involute

to involute

1 9.1
To curl inward or return to an earlier state
  • verb
  • /ˈɪnvəˌluːt/
translation icon : enrollarse
  • Capillary hemangiomas present early in life, and they tend to involute spontaneously. They usually affect the vertebrae.

Examples

  • It was an impacted node of fantastically involuted code.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Shabby research I can stand, but involuted style really makes my ass drag.

  • I love that he spoke about involute turn into yourself.

  • There, along the backstrap of the handle, beautifully engraved, fancy, involuted, was J.B. Hickok.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • In the first case, the patient underwent surgical excision, and on serial CT, residual tumor was found to involute over a 5-year period.

    Academic text (2008)
  • The aged Melville employed an intricately qualified phraseology every bit as involuted as the notorious late style employed by Henry James just a few years later.

    Academic text (1993)
  • This is most likely associated with the finding that the thymus gland reaches its largest relative size by age four and its largest absolute size by puberty, at which time it begins to involute and is replaced by fibrofatty tissue.

    Academic text (1996)
  • This immune clock resides within the thymus gland, whose size is largest during the teenage years and involutes to the point where it is barely detectable after age 50.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In some cases, the tumor can involute on its own without treatment after several months.

  • The medical team observed how the swelling began to involute as the patient recovered.

Synonyms

to curl
vsto involute
173 1.1

To form into a curved or spiral shape

can also mean moving back to a previous state not just shaping
to retract
vsto involute
25 5.6

To pull something back so it is no longer sticking out

focuses more on curling inward or returning to an earlier condition than mere withdrawal
to recurve
vsto involute
1 8.1

To bend something backward, like a leaf or bow

emphasizes inward curling or restoration rather than turning back or downward
to inturn
vsto involute
9.4

To bend or turn toward the inside, like a leaf edge

also means returning to an earlier condition rather than only physical bending

Antonyms

12 2.0

To spread out something like a carpet or map that was wrapped up

How Curled

to involute
1 9.1
to coil
7 3.8
to curl
173 1.1
to curve
22 2.8
to bend
268 1.0

Surface Forms

involute infinitive
involuted past
involuted past participle
involuting present participle
involutes third person singular

Etymology

The verb involute is built from in- 'in' and volvere 'to roll', so it literally means to 'roll in' or curl up. That is why we say leaves or tissue 'involute' when they fold inward or move back toward an earlier state.