thicken

Verb
US[thik-uhn]/ˈθɪkən/2 syllables
Synonyms: inspissate

Open English WordNet

Verb (3)thickens, thickened, thickening

  1. make thick or thicker“Thicken the sauce”“inspissate the tar so that it becomes pitch”Synonyms: inspissateMore general change, alterCauses inspissateSimilar inspissate
  2. become thick or thicker“The sauce thickened”“The egg yolk will inspissate”Synonyms: inspissateMore general change state, turnSimilar inspissate
  3. make viscous or dense“thicken the sauce by adding flour”Synonyms: inspissateMore general change integrity
Word of the day · Oct 29About this word

What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Thick′en transitive verb [past tense & past participle Thickened; present participle & verbal noun Thickening.]

To make thick (in any sense of the word). Specifically: —

(a) To render dense; to inspissate; as, to thicken paint.

(b) To make close; to fill up interstices in; as, to thicken cloth; to thicken ranks of trees or men.

(c) To strengthen; to confirm. obsolete

And this may to thicken other proofs.— William Shakespeare

(d) To make more frequent; as, to thicken blows.


Thick′en intransitive verb

To become thick. “Thy luster thickens when he shines by.” William Shakespeare

The press of people thickens to the court.— John Dryden
The combat thickens, like the storm that flies.— John Dryden

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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