as in complexity
the state or quality of having many interrelated parts or aspects
the involution of the thriller's plot made it hard to follow
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Recent Examples of involution
Firms and factories race to produce the same products and barely make any profit—a phenomenon known in China as nei juan, or involution.
—
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2024
Reviewers began to accuse her of involution, pretension, and self-entrancement.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023
In a challenging economic environment, AI has become less about revolution and more about involution, and many startups are using it to make small efficiency improvements, hoping to gain enough of an edge to stay competitive.
—Lavender Au, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023
This is curiously analogous to the cultural involution which Jews also underwent during this period.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2012
China’s hyper-competitive schools and workplaces have given rise to movements like ‘lying flat’ and ‘involution,’ which symbolize young people’s growing rejection of its cutthroat systems.
—Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2022
Lying flat and involution are not just online fodder, experts say; symptoms of passive resistance are popping up across Chinese society.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2022
The opposite of evolution, a process of involution spirals in on itself, trapping its participants.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Notice that this is an involution as = ∂. In addition, the only self-conjugate itinerary is a string of O’s.
—Nicholas Diaco, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2018
Zongyuan Zoe Liu, Foreign Affairs, 6 Aug. 2024
Reviewers began to accuse her of involution, pretension, and self-entrancement.
—Katy Waldman, The New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2023
In a challenging economic environment, AI has become less about revolution and more about involution, and many startups are using it to make small efficiency improvements, hoping to gain enough of an edge to stay competitive.
—Lavender Au, WIRED, 13 Sep. 2023
This is curiously analogous to the cultural involution which Jews also underwent during this period.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 16 May 2012
China’s hyper-competitive schools and workplaces have given rise to movements like ‘lying flat’ and ‘involution,’ which symbolize young people’s growing rejection of its cutthroat systems.
—Yvonne Lau, Fortune, 17 Sep. 2022
Lying flat and involution are not just online fodder, experts say; symptoms of passive resistance are popping up across Chinese society.
—Grady McGregor, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2022
The opposite of evolution, a process of involution spirals in on itself, trapping its participants.
—Yi-Ling Liu, Wired, 9 Mar. 2021
Notice that this is an involution as = ∂. In addition, the only self-conjugate itinerary is a string of O’s.
—Nicholas Diaco, Scientific American, 20 Mar. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Involution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/involution. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.
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