involute
adjective, verb, noun
involute is spelled I-N-V-O-L-U-T-E: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, involute means “Difficult to understand; complicated” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in involute?
| Letters | 8: I-N-V-O-L-U-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 118,441st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is involute?
Involute appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 118,441st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce involute?
- US
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-involute.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of involute
- more involute comparative
- most involute superlative
- involuted participle, past
- involutes present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- involuting participle, present
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does involute mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Difficult to understand; complicated.
- 2
Having the edges rolled with the adaxial side outward.
- 3
Having a complex pattern of coils in which younger whorls only partly surround older ones.
- 4
Turned inward at the margin, like the exterior lip of the shells of species in genus Cypraea.
- 5
Rolled inward spirally.
verb
- 1
To roll or curl inwards.
noun
- 1
A curve that cuts all tangents of another curve at right angles; traced by a point on a string that unwinds from a curved object.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Involute in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a curve that cuts all tangents of another curve at right angles; traced by a poi:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | développante |
| German | Evolvente, Involute |
| Spanish | evolvente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does involute come from?
Borrowed from Latin involutus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).