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Glite Dictionary
👥 To reduce numbers 🌫️ To become sparse 🥤 To dilute
to thin out

to thin out

2 3.7
Make a drink weaker by adding water or another liquid
  • phrasal verb
  • /θɪn aʊt/
translation icon : diluir
  • And the problem with this is that when you thin out oil paint the binder, the oil is diluted.
  • thin it out with water
  • thin out with broth
  • thin it out a bit

A great way to thin anything out is a product like this kind of similar to like the Cosas.

Examples

  • I printed a picture of a leaf, taped wax paper over it, and we worked together to dip yarn in a glue solution (mostly glue and a little bit of water to thin it out) and apply it to the outline of the leaf (sometimes having to add straight glue to make it stick better).

    Blog text (15)

  • And by that I mean that the artist thinned out the paint and put it on with less binders in it.

  • So they start thinning out the formula to make it stretch.

    Blog text (12)

  • I have to be careful thawing the fluid, and even then I need to thin it out with plasma.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Stir until thinned out and homogeneous.

    Blog text (7)

  • If you put some color on and it's that's covering too much, then you have to, you know, either thin it out or add some more binder for this first airbrush pass.

  • You can add some water to thin out the sauce and make it easier to pour.

  • To thin out your smoothie, just add a bit more juice or yogurt.

  • If your paint is too thick, use water to thin it out before applying it.

Synonyms

to cut
vsto thin out
  • Specialized
106 6.0

To make a liquid less strong by adding another liquid

is usually done by adding liquid to reduce concentration rather than by adding other substances
to thin
vsto thin out
38 1.4

To become less thick or crowded, for example a crowd

focuses on lowering solution concentration by adding liquid rather than on material bulk
to dilute
vsto thin out
28 3.5

To make a liquid weaker by adding water

is the more general expression for reducing mixture concentration by adding liquid
to water down
vsto thin out
  • Informal
14 4.0

To make something less strong by adding liquid or removing strong parts

is mainly used for physical mixtures rather than for weakening ideas
to attenuate
vsto thin out
9 7.9

To make something weaker, like sound or light

is specific to weakening solutions by adding liquid rather than general loss of strength
to rarefy
vsto thin out
  • Specialized
9.9

To make air or other things thinner so they have more empty space

is focused on reducing concentration in solutions instead of lowering density

Antonyms

to concentrate
83 4.4

To make a liquid thicker by removing water

to thicken
35 2.3

Become or make something less runny

How Thin

to dilute
28 3.5
to thin out
2 3.7
to water down
  • Informal
14 4.0

Surface Forms

thin out infinitive
thinned out past
thinned out past participle
thinning out present participle
thins out third person singular

Morphology

thin + out

The verb 'thin' (to make less dense) combined with the particle 'out' produces a meaning that is directly inferable — to make fewer or more sparsely distributed — following a common English verb + particle composition. This compositional pattern is cross-linguistically common and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.

Etymology

The verb thin out comes from the simple idea of making something thin by adding liquid so it spreads out. That's why it means 'to make a mixture less strong or concentrated'.