Word.ws English Dictionary

thickened

thickened is the simple past and past participle of thicken.

Meaning of thicken

Verb

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

  1. (transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of wider).
    Synonyms:
    broaden
  2. (transitive) To make thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
    • to thicken a sauce
  3. (intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of wider).
    • As we age, the major arteries of our bodies frequently become thickened with plaque, a fatty material with an oatmeal-like consistency that builds up along the inner lining of blood vessels. The reason plaque forms isn’t entirely known, but it seems to be related to high levels of cholesterol...2013 July-August, Stephen P. Lownie, David M. Pelz, “Stents to Prevent Stroke”, in American Scientist
  4. (intransitive) To become thicker (in the sense of more viscous).
    Synonyms:
    inspissate
  5. (transitive) To strengthen; to confirm.
    • And this may helpe to thicken other proofes,/ That do demonstrate thinly.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    Synonyms:
    build up
  6. (transitive) To make more frequent.
    • to thicken blows

See all 7 meanings of thicken

Phrases with thickened

Questions about thickened

What is thickened the simple past and past participle of?
Thickened is the simple past and past participle of thicken.

Words near thickened in the dictionary

  1. thicke
  2. thicked
  3. thicken
  4. thicken up
  5. thickenable
  6. thickened
  7. thickened up
  8. thickener
  9. thickeners
  10. thickening
  11. thickening agent

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: thickened (page history and authors); thicken (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “thickened.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/thickened. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.