THICKEN

thicken, inspissate

(verb) become thick or thicker; “The sauce thickened”; “The egg yolk will inspissate”

thicken, inspissate

(verb) make thick or thicker; “Thicken the sauce”; “inspissate the tar so that it becomes pitch”

thicken, inspissate

(verb) make viscous or dense; “thicken the sauce by adding flour”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

thicken (third-person singular simple present thickens, present participle thickening, simple past and past participle thickened)

(transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of wider).

(transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of more viscous).

(intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of wider).

(intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of more viscous).

(transitive) To strengthen; to confirm.

(transitive) To make more frequent.

Synonyms

• (make wider): broaden, enwiden; see also widen

• (make more viscous): condense, engross, inspissate; see also thicken

• (become wider): widen

• (become more viscous): inspissate

• (strengthen): build up, reinforce; see also strengthen

• (make more frequent)

Anagrams

• Chetnik, Kitchen, chetnik, ethnick, kitchen

Source: Wiktionary

Thick"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Thickened; p. pr. & vb. n. Thickening.]

Definition: 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. [Obs.] And this may to thicken other proofs. Shak.

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

Thick"en, v. i.

Definition: To become thick. "Thy luster thickens when he shines by." Shak. The press of people thickens to the court. Dryden. The combat thickens, like the storm that flies. Dryden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition