thicken

verb

Definition of thickennext
as in to stiffen

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of thicken Temper the egg and cheese mixture with hot pasta water, then toss it with the spaghetti off the heat so the eggs thicken into a silky sauce instead of scrambling. — Claire Saffitz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 Follow aeration by overseeding the lawn, as this will thicken the lawn canopy with desirable grass species. — Lee Wallender, The Spruce, 15 Aug. 2026 Tomato paste helps thicken the sauce while adding tangy sweetness. — Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 12 Aug. 2026 This fruit cobbler starts with a base of fresh strawberries and blueberries tossed with sugar and cornstarch to sweeten and thicken. — Terrence Hayes, Southern Living, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for thicken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thicken
  1. stiffen
  2. condense
  3. harden
  4. freeze
  5. solidify
  6. curdle
  7. cake
Verb
  • Bile rose in Evie’s throat and her body stiffened under his touch.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Offering a 35% incentive aimed at stiffening up jobs here and enticing post-production to relocate to the Golden State, AB 2319 is racing toward a vote in the state Senate by next week once the bill is in final shape.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of stiffen
Verb
  • The steam is then condensed back into water and reused in a closed cycle.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 10 Sep. 2026
  • The following highlights from their conversation have been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
    — September 9, NPR, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of condense
Verb
  • Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is facing a tight contest for a Senate seat, also hardened his stance against data centers recently.
    — Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The rare trip by CIA chief John Ratcliffe failed to persuade Putin to stop the war and may have hardened the Russian’s leaders resolve to seek military victory.
    — Catherine Belton, Washington Post, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of harden
Verb
  • Additionally, the Department of Education froze more than $250 million in federal funds to HSIs last fall.
    — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Spain is paying for its women's soccer players to freeze their eggs.
    — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of freeze
Verb
  • Blankenship fills a spot that was not entirely solidified in 2025.
    — Daniel Popper, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Businesses adopting RfP early should expect to encounter edge cases without clear precedent and should build internal processes for manual exception handling until industry norms solidify.
    — Ivaylo Bozoukov, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of solidify
Verb
  • But Buddy, the feature debut of Casper Kelly, lets the genre’s relentlessly upbeat tone slowly curdle in the opening sequence, in which one of the kids refuses to play along with day’s lesson about being brave and trying new things.
    — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Yet there is little time for the thought to curdle, because this game is a Monday night maelstrom.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of curdle
Verb
  • The army has published footage of rescues via helicopter, and of people being pulled out of the hydropower tunnels, completely caked in mud.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Fore says borax can cake up and leave residue behind if it isn’t fully dissolved and rinsed out.
    — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of cake

Browse Nearby Words

thick
thicken
thickened
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Thicken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thicken. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of loath

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All