widen B2 Topic:Actions & Processes US /ˈwaɪdn̩/ See IPA manual Freq #21276 Meanings 1 verb To make something wider, or to become wider. The city plans to widen the main road next year. 2 verb To become or make larger in eyes or opening. Her eyes widened in surprise. 3 verb To increase in scope or range; to broaden. The police widened their investigation. Verb forms Verb forms are not available for this word yet. Thesaurus Synonyms breadthenbroadenenwidenthickenwidthen ↔ Opposites lengthenshortenstraiten Word family Forms widenedwideningwidens Derived forms widenable Related forms dilate Etymology AI details Borrowed from Swedish Widén. Widén sv View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # widen **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /ˈwaɪdn̩/ **Frequency rank:** 21276 ## Meanings 1. To make something wider, or to become wider. 2. To become or make larger in eyes or opening. 3. To increase in scope or range; to broaden. ## Examples - The city plans to widen the main road next year. - Her eyes widened in surprise. - The police widened their investigation. ## Synonyms - breadthen - broaden - enwiden - thicken - widthen ## Antonyms - lengthen - shorten - straiten ## Derived Forms - widenable ## Related Forms - dilate ## Roots and Affixes - Root: Widén - Affix: -en - to make ## Etymology Borrowed from Swedish Widén. ## AI Etymology Widen is borrowed from Swedish Widén. A key historical form is sv Widén. In present-day use, it can mean to make something wider, or to become wider, or to become or make larger in eyes or opening. Derived formations include widenable. Related words include dilate. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown