thicken

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈθɪkən/ UK /ˈθɪkən/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like sicken /θ/ vs /s/

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become thicker or denser

Stir the sauce until it begins to thicken.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become thicker... congeal coagulate condense clot set solidify

Opposites

thin dilute liquefy

Word family

Derived forms thickenerthickening

Related forms thick thickness thickly

Etymology

From thick (Old English thicce) + the verb-forming suffix -en, from Proto-Germanic *thikkwiz.

thicce Old English *thikkwiz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# thicken

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈθɪkən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈθɪkən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become thicker or denser

## Examples
- Stir the sauce until it begins to thicken.

## Synonyms
- congeal
- coagulate
- condense
- clot
- set
- solidify

## Antonyms
- thin
- dilute
- liquefy

## Derived Forms
- thickener
- thickening

## Related Forms
- thick
- thickness
- thickly

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: thicce
- Root: *thikkwiz

## Etymology
From thick (Old English thicce) + the verb-forming suffix -en, from Proto-Germanic *thikkwiz.

## AI Etymology
Thicken comes from thick (Old English thicce) + the verb-forming suffix -en, from Proto-Germanic *thikkwiz. The historical chain includes Old English thicce and Proto-Germanic *thikkwiz. The formation is best read as suffixal, compound, and borrowed: the word thicken carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to make or become thicker or denser". English derivatives include thickener and thickening; related English forms include thick, thickness, and thickly. The result is a verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown