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thickness

thickness

1 7.4
A low or unclear way of speaking that is hard to understand
  • noun
  • /ˈθɪk.nəs/
translation icon : voz pastosa
  • DIAGRAM: Figure 10. User-defined linear spline (left) and result of added thickness (right).
  • thickness of voice

Examples

  • I associated the seriousness of literature—the thickness of the language.

    Blog text (16)
  • We click along the hallway to Rachel's office, my stomach doing slow revolutions and feeding a thickness in my throat.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • I opened my collar and tried to swallow the thickness that was starting in my throat.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The front tires of the power wheelchair had an outside diameter of about 19 cm (7.5 in) and a radial thickness of about 3.8 cm (1.5 in).

    Academic text (1993)
  • They have also found that the thickness dependence of the moment resembles the thickness dependence of the ferromagnetic Curie temperature of the film.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Also, anterior and posterior cortical thickness were no more inferior distally than proximally, again demonstrating no regional differences in the level of bone atrophy.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The SuperAgers also exhibited remarkable thickness in the anterior cingulate cortex—even thicker than the middle-aged control group.

    Blog text (8)
  • The odor of death—the thickness it caused, making everything about life heavier—became discernible as Niemann climbed to the cottage hayloft at the edge of town.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "His speech was slurred, and the thickness made it hard for me to understand what he was saying."

  • "As she spoke, I noticed the thickness in her voice, indicating that she might be upset."

Antonyms

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

1 5.5

How clear and easy to recognize a shape or sound is

How Clear

clarity
152 3.0
thickness
1 7.4

Surface Forms

thickness singular
thicknesses plural

Morphology

thickness = thick (semi-transparent) = thick + ness

This is a metaphorical extension describing clarity of speech rather than physical dimension, so learners may not reliably infer it from 'thick'.

Etymology

The word thickness comes from thick meaning 'dense' or 'heavy' and the ending -ness. If someone's speech sounds 'thick' it is heavy and hard to understand, so thickness of speech means the words are unclear or slurred.