Include vs. Involve — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman — Updated on October 30, 2023
Include refers to adding something as a part, involve means to engage or embroil in an activity or situation.
Difference Between Include and Involve
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
Include refers to having something as a part of a whole or group, suggesting a sense of addition or incorporation. Involve, on the other hand, implies engagement or participation in an activity or situation, often with a deeper connection or commitment. When you include something, you are simply adding it to a list or collection. In contrast, to involve something or someone suggests that it is an essential part of the process or activity.
Include can be a matter of itemizing or mentioning in a list, where the items do not need to actively contribute or change the outcome. Involve usually means that whatever is involved plays a significant role and may affect the outcome. For example, a list may include various items, but a plan that involves multiple departments will need active participation from all listed entities.
In the context of instructions, include denotes that certain elements should be a part of the final product, whereas involve denotes that certain actions or roles should be taken or filled throughout the process. You might include ingredients in a recipe, ensuring they are added, but you involve people in a project, requiring their active participation.
An event might include several features like music, food, and entertainment; they are part of the event but not engaged in it. Involve is more dynamic, implying that if a task involves multiple steps, each step is necessary and has a role to play in the task's completion. Including something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s crucial, while involving something often implies its importance and necessity.
The use of include can often be passive; it simply states that something should be present. Involve is active; it suggests action and engagement from the person or thing that is involved. In a document, you include figures and tables; they are part of the document but do not take action. In a project, when you involve team members, you expect them to take action and contribute.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
To contain as part of a whole.
To engage or implicate in an activity.
Connotation
Addition, enumeration.
Engagement, participation.
Usage
Generally passive.
Generally active.
Relationship
Inclusive of elements without interaction.
Implies interaction and contribution.
Necessity
Items are part of a set but may not be critical.
Elements are often critical to the operation or outcome.
Compare with Definitions
Include
To list or enumerate among others.
Please include your name and address at the top.
Involve
To wrap; to entangle in a situation.
The plot involves a mystery that unfolds gradually.
Include
To make someone or something a part of.
The team includes players from six countries.
Involve
Have or include (something) as a necessary or integral part or result
A bill proposing harsher penalties for crimes involving firearms and drugs
My job involves a lot of travelling
Include
To contain something as a part.
The tour price includes meals and accommodation.
Involve
To have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail
Was told that the job would involve travel.
Include
To take into account or consider.
The study includes recent findings on the subject.
Involve
To relate to or affect
The matter is serious because it involves your reputation.
Include
Comprise or contain as part of a whole
Other changes included the abolition of the death penalty
The price includes dinner, bed, and breakfast
Involve
To cause to burn; spread to
The blaze involved the house next door.
Include
Make part of a whole or set
We have included some hints for beginners in this section
Involve
To engage as a participant; embroil
The bystanders got involved in a dispute with the police.
Include
To contain or take in as a part, element, or member.
Involve
To show to be a participant; connect or implicate
Evidence that involved the governor in the scandal.
Include
To consider as part of or allow into a group or class
Thanked the host for including us.
Involve
To engage (oneself) in a love affair
Was involved with a colleague at work.
Include
To bring into a group, class, set, or total as a (new) part or member.
I will purchase the vacation package if you will include car rental.
Involve
To occupy or engage the interest of
A story that completely involved me for the rest of the evening.
Include
To consider as part of something; to comprehend.
The vacation package includes car rental.
Does this volume of Shakespeare include his sonnets?
I was included in the invitation to the family gathering.
Up to and including page twenty-five
Involve
To wrap; envelop
A castle that was involved in mist.
Include
(obsolete) To enclose, confine.
Involve
(Archaic) To wind or coil about.
Include
(obsolete) To conclude; to terminate.
Involve
(transitive) To comprise or include; to have as a related part.
My job involves forecasting economic trends.
Include
(programming) To use a directive that allows the use of source code from another file.
You have to include the strings library to use this function.
Involve
(transitive) To cause or engage (someone or something) to participate or to become connected or implicated.
How can we involve the audience more during the show?
By involving herself in her local community, Mary met lots of people and also helped make it a nicer place to live.
I don't want to involve him in my personal affairs.
We are always trying to involve new technology in our products.
Include
(programming) A piece of source code or other content that is dynamically retrieved for inclusion in another item.
Involve
To envelop, enfold, entangle.
To involve a person in debt or misery
Include
To confine within; to hold; to contain; to shut up; to inclose; as, the shell of a nut includes the kernel; a pearl is included in a shell.
Involve
To complicate or make intricate.
Include
To comprehend or comprise, as a genus the species, the whole a part, an argument or reason the inference; to contain; to embrace; as, this volume of Shakespeare includes his sonnets; he was included in the invitation to the family; to and including page twenty-five.
The whole included race, his purposed prey.
The loss of such a lord includes all harm.
Involve
(largely obsolete) To take in; to gather in; to mingle, blend or merge.
Include
To conclude; to end; to terminate.
Come, let us go; we will include all jarsWith triumphs, mirth, and rare solemnity.
Involve
To raise to any assigned power; to multiply, as a quantity, into itself a given number of times.
A quantity involved to the third or fourth power
Include
Have as a part, be made up out of;
The list includes the names of many famous writers
Involve
(archaic) To roll or fold up; to wind round; to entwine.
Include
Consider as part of something;
I include you in the list of culprits
Involve
(archaic) To envelop completely; to surround; to cover; to hide.
To involve in darkness or obscurity
Include
Add as part of something else; put in as part of a set, group, or category;
We must include this chemical element in the group
Involve
(archaic) To connect with something as a natural or logical consequence or effect; to include necessarily; to imply.
Include
Allow participation in or the right to be part of; permit to exercise the rights, functions, and responsibilities of;
Admit someone to the profession
She was admitted to the New Jersey Bar
Involve
To roll or fold up; to wind round; to entwine.
Some of serpent kind . . . involvedTheir snaky folds.
Include
To add as part of something else.
Your subscription includes access to all special features.
Involve
To envelop completely; to surround; to cover; to hide; to involve in darkness or obscurity.
And leave a singèd bottom all involvedWith stench and smoke.
Involve
To complicate or make intricate, as in grammatical structure.
Involve
To connect with something as a natural or logical consequence or effect; to include necessarily; to imply.
He knowsHis end with mine involved.
The contrary necessarily involves a contradiction.
Involve
To take in; to gather in; to mingle confusedly; to blend or merge.
The gathering number, as it moves along,Involves a vast involuntary throng.
Earth with hellTo mingle and involve.
Involve
To envelop, infold, entangle, or embarrass; as, to involve a person in debt or misery.
Involve
To engage thoroughly; to occupy, employ, or absorb.
Involve
To raise to any assigned power; to multiply, as a quantity, into itself a given number of times; as, a quantity involved to the third or fourth power.
Involve
Connect closely and often incriminatingly;
This new ruling affects your business
Involve
Engage as a participant;
Don't involve me in your family affairs!
Involve
Have as a necessary feature or consequence; entail;
This decision involves many changes
Involve
Require as useful, just, or proper;
It takes nerve to do what she did
Success usually requires hard work
This job asks a lot of patience and skill
This position demands a lot of personal sacrifice
This dinner calls for a spectacular dessert
This intervention does not postulates a patient's consent
Involve
Contain as a part;
Dinner at Joe's always involves at least six courses
Involve
Wrap;
The tower was involved in mist
Involve
Occupy or engage the interest of;
His story completely involved me during the entire afternoon
Involve
Make complex or intricate or complicated;
The situation was rather involved
Involve
To engage as a participant.
The role will involve interacting with clients.
Involve
To require as a necessary part.
Fixing this problem will involve changing the entire system.
Involve
To cause to be included.
The new policy involves several changes to the schedule.
Involve
To affect or concern.
This decision involves significant investments.
Common Curiosities
Does "include" imply importance?
Not necessarily; it simply states that something is part of a larger set.
What does include mean?
Include means to have something as a part of a larger whole.
What does involve mean?
Involve means to actively engage or entangle something in an activity or situation.
Can a person be included without being involved?
Yes, a person can be included by mention but not be actively participating.
Can something be involved without being included?
No, if something is involved, it is inherently included in the context.
Is "include" a comprehensive term?
Include can be comprehensive but doesn't guarantee completeness.
Can "include" and "involve" be used interchangeably?
No, they have different meanings; "include" is about containing, while "involve" is about engaging.
Is "involve" an active process?
Yes, involve usually indicates an active role or participation.
Does involve always imply direct action?
Yes, it typically implies direct engagement or participation.
Can inanimate objects be involved?
In a metaphorical sense, yes, like when a task involves using tools.
Can you say a job involves certain responsibilities?
Yes, and it suggests that these responsibilities are an active part of the job.
Does "involve" indicate a deeper level of inclusion?
Yes, it suggests a more essential and active form of inclusion.
In a recipe, what's the difference between include and involve?
Include lists the ingredients needed, while involve refers to what you do with them.
Which is a stronger commitment, to include or to involve?
To involve typically suggests a stronger commitment due to the active participation it implies.
Is it correct to say a job includes certain responsibilities?
Yes, that means those responsibilities are part of the job's requirements.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
