Definition

1. Noun:

   • The act or process of making something thicker or more viscous: The process of increasing the density, consistency, or viscosity of a substance.
   • A thickened part or area: A specific area or spot that has become thicker than its surroundings.
   • A substance used to make a liquid mixture thicker: A material added to a liquid to increase its viscosity or give it a denser consistency.

2. Adjective:

   • Becoming thicker or more dense: Describing something that is in the process of increasing in thickness, viscosity, or complexity.
   • Accumulating and becoming more intense: Describing a quality, feeling, or atmosphere that is growing stronger or more profound.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The thickening of the sauce requires constant stirring. (The process of making the sauce thicker.)
  • A thickening was detected on the X-ray. (A specific area that had grown thicker.)
  • Cornstarch is a common thickening for gravies. (A substance used to thicken.)

• Adjective:

  • The thickening fog made driving dangerous. (The fog that was becoming denser.)
  • We followed the suspect into the thickening crowd. (The crowd that was becoming more packed.)
  • The novel's thickening plot kept me reading. (The plot that was becoming more complex.)

Advanced Usage

• "A thickening agent": A specific term for a substance used to thicken liquids in cooking, chemistry, or industry.

  • Pectin is a natural thickening agent used in jams.

• Used figuratively to describe complexity: Often applied to narratives or situations.

  • The mystery was thickening with each new clue. (The mystery was becoming more complex.)

Variants and Related Words

• Thicken (verb): To make or become thick or thicker.

  • The soup will thicken as it cools.

• Thickener (noun): Another word for a substance used to thicken; a synonym for 'thickening' in its noun form meaning 'a substance'.

  • Arrowroot powder is an effective thickener.

Synonyms

• Noun (substance): Binder, agent, coagulant.
• Adjective (becoming dense): Condensing, deepening, intensifying.
• Adjective (becoming complex): Complicating, developing.

Related Phrases

• "The plot thickens": A common idiomatic expression used when a situation, especially in a story, becomes more complicated or interesting.
  • He wasn't at home or at the office? Well, the plot thickens.

Notes on Different Meanings

• The primary distinction is between the process (the act of thickening), the result (a thickened part), and the substance (the material added).
• As an adjective, it can describe both physical properties (like fog) and abstract qualities (like a plot or gloom).

Adjective

1. becoming more intricate or complex
   • a thickening plot
2. accumulating and becoming more intense
   • the deepening gloom
   • felt a deepening love
   • the thickening dusk

Noun

1. the act of thickening
2. any thickened enlargement
3. any material used to thicken
   • starch is used in cooking as a thickening