DEEPENING

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deepening mean? 

• DEEPENING (noun)
  The noun DEEPENING has 1 sense:

1. a process of becoming deeper and more profound

  Familiarity information: DEEPENING used as a noun is very rare.

• DEEPENING (adjective)
  The adjective DEEPENING has 1 sense:

1. accumulating and becoming more intense

  Familiarity information: DEEPENING used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEEPENING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A process of becoming deeper and more profound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("deepening" is a kind of...):

development; evolution (a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage))

Derivation:

deepen (make deeper)

• DEEPENING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Accumulating and becoming more intense

Synonyms:

deepening; thickening

Context example:

the thickening dusk

Similar:

intensifying (increasing in strength or intensity)

 Context examples 

“I know English, and I know what you mean, sir,” Johnson answered, his flush deepening at the slur on his knowledge of the English language.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Now, a team of scientists has conducted research into waves that travel through this magnetic, electrically charged environment, known as the magnetosphere, deepening understanding of the region.

(Scientists deepen understanding of magnetic fields that surround Earth, National Science Foundation)

A trine from Jupiter brings good health, optimism, and the possibility of finding an important new love interest or the growing closeness and deepening of love for your present partner.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Already the white lines in the east were deepening into pink as the archers gathered round the keep and took counsel how to rescue the survivors.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

An abnormal deepening of a gingival sulcus associated with destruction of the supporting periodontal tissue.

(Periodontal Pocket, NCI Thesaurus)

An abnormal deepening of a gingival sulcus not associated with destruction of the supporting periodontal tissue.

(Gingival Pocket, NCI Thesaurus)

Passers-by probably thought them a pair of harmless lunatics, for they entirely forgot to hail a bus, and strolled leisurely along, oblivious of deepening dusk and fog.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I waited, therefore—but to my ever-deepening disappointment I waited in vain.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Gradually, however, as his neighbours plied him with drink, his shoulders grew squarer, his back stiffened, his eyes brightened, and he looked about him, with an air of surprise at first, as if he had no clear recollection of how he came there, and afterwards with an expression of deepening interest, as he listened, with his ear scooped up in his hand, to the conversation around him.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

They include: • Acne • Breast growth and shrinking of testicles in men • Voice deepening and growth of facial hair in women • High blood pressure • Heart problems, including heart attack • Liver disease, including cancer • Kidney damage • Aggressive behavior

(Anabolic Steroids, NIH: National Institute on Drug Abuse)