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Glite Dictionary
thinner

thinner

11 5.5
A liquid that makes paint less thick or helps clean brushes
  • noun
  • /ˈθɪnər/
translation icon : diluente
  • The artist used a paint thinner to make the colors easier to apply.
  • paint thinners
  • blood thinners
  • lacquer thinners

So it's sort of a mom and pop paint thinner company.

Examples

  • OK, so we're going to start with paint thinner and brush a thin coat.

  • I got all the oils, old paint, paint thinners, anti-freeze, and other stuff you can't dump at the landfill.

    Blog text (2)

  • So it's sort of a mom and pop paint thinner company.

    Funny Or Die

  • The car is filled with the fumes of thinners and paint.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • You can clean your brushes with paint thinner to remove dried paint.

  • Make sure to use a safe paint thinner when working indoors.

Synonyms

diluent
vsthinner
  • Specialized
1 9.0

A liquid that you add to medicine or chemicals to make them less strong

is for paints and cleaning rather than laboratory dilution
dilutant
vsthinner
  • Specialized
8.7

A substance added to another to make it less strong, like water

is used specifically to reduce paint thickness and help application or cleanup

Antonyms

thickener
1 4.4

Something added to a liquid to make it thicker

How Diluting

thinner
11 5.5
dilutant
  • Specialized
8.7
diluent
  • Specialized
1 9.0

Surface Forms

thinner singular
thinners plural

Morphology

thinner = thin (transparent) = thin + er

Formed by the productive verb + -er pattern creating an instrument/agent noun; meaning matches common English derivation (a substance that makes things thin).

Etymology

Thinner comes from the simple word thin, which means 'not thick', plus the ending -er that shows 'something that makes or does'. So a thinner is a liquid that makes paint 'not thick', helping it spread easier or clean brushes.