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to thicken

to thicken

35 2.3
Become or make something less runny
  • verb
  • /ˈθɪkən/
translation icon : espesar
  • She added more flour to the sauce to thicken it before serving.
  • mixture thickens
  • walls were thickened
  • membranes were thickened

I'm going to boost a little bit in there, thicken it up just a little bit.

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Examples

  • What type of flour is used to thicken a sauce?

  • OK, now that it's bubbling now I'm gonna thicken them up with some flour.

  • And now I can just thicken the lines a little bit.

  • And then this is where we are going to thicken this whole wing.

  • I just wipe through just to thicken them a little bit and get some color on there.

  • OK, so we're going to just thicken up those eyelashes.

  • So here we come in to try to thicken up these lashes a little bit.

  • So all of these will reabsorb and help to thicken the pizza sauce even more.

  • So I'm going to add a little bit of flour to thicken it so it's nice and gravy like.

  • It very quickly thickens your lashes as you can see already.

Synonyms

to condense
vsto thicken
19 4.2

Turn from a gas into a liquid when cooled

focuses on increasing density or reducing fluidity in many materials
to coagulate
vsto thicken
  • Specialized
8 7.7

To make a liquid become thick or solid

is broader meaning any change that makes substances less fluid
to densify
vsto thicken
  • Specialized
1 6.9

To make something more full of buildings, people or material

is specific to increasing compactness rather than only reducing liquid flow
to inspissate
vsto thicken
  • Specialized
9.9

To become or make a liquid thicker by losing water

is a general process of becoming less fluid and more dense

Antonyms

38 1.4

To become less thick or crowded, for example a crowd

How Thick

to solidify
55 4.4
to gel
  • Specialized
1 4.1
to thicken
35 2.3
to thin
38 1.4

Surface Forms

thicken infinitive
thickened past
thickened past participle
thickening present participle
thickens third person singular

Morphology

thicken = thick (transparent) = thick + en

Built from the adjective 'thick' plus the productive verb-forming suffix '-en' giving the meaning 'make or become more thick', which is directly inferable by learners.

Etymology

Thicken comes from the common word thick plus the verb ending -en, which means 'to make'. So to thicken something is to 'make thick', which is why stew, paint, or fog can thicken and become less runny.