THICKENING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does thickening mean? 

• THICKENING (noun)
  The noun THICKENING has 3 senses:

1. any material used to thicken

2. any thickened enlargement

3. the act of thickening

  Familiarity information: THICKENING used as a noun is uncommon.

• THICKENING (adjective)
  The adjective THICKENING has 2 senses:

1. accumulating and becoming more intense

2. becoming more intricate or complex

  Familiarity information: THICKENING used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THICKENING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any material used to thicken

Classified under:

Nouns denoting substances

Synonyms:

thickener; thickening

Context example:

starch is used in cooking as a thickening

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

material; stuff (the tangible substance that goes into the makeup of a physical object)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any thickened enlargement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting two and three dimensional shapes

Synonyms:

knob; node; thickening

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

convex shape; convexity (a shape that curves or bulges outward)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of thickening

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

inspissation; thickening

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

condensation; condensing (the act of increasing the density of something)

Derivation:

thicken (make thick or thicker)

thicken (make viscous or dense)

• THICKENING (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Accumulating and becoming more intense

Synonyms:

deepening; thickening

Context example:

the thickening dusk

Similar:

intensifying (increasing in strength or intensity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Becoming more intricate or complex

Context example:

a thickening plot

Similar:

complex (complicated in structure; consisting of interconnected parts)

 Context examples 

A disorder characterized by fibrous thickening of the arterial wall resulting in narrowing of the arterial lumen.

(Fibromuscular Dysplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

An abnormality characterized by thickening of the muscle in the wall of the pylorus.

(Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis, NCI Thesaurus)

A condition marked by thickening of the outer layer of the skin, which is made of keratin (a tough, protective protein).

(Hyperkeratosis, NCI Dictionary)

A type of hyperplasia that is characterized by a marked thickening of the urinary tract epithelium.

(Flat Urothelial Hyperplasia, NCI Thesaurus)

A condition of unknown etiology characterized by thickening of the inner table of the frontal bone of the skull.

(Hyperostosis Frontalis Interna, NCI Thesaurus)

This combination inhibits ovulation and promotes the thickening of the cervical mucus and the endometrium.

(Ethinyl Estradiol/Norgestimate, NCI Thesaurus)

In addition, thickening of the cervical mucus and the endometrium is promoted, thereby altering the endometrium in such a way as to discourage implantation.

(Drospirenone/Ethinyl Estradiol, NCI Thesaurus)

A heavily timbered park stretched up in a gentle slope, thickening into a grove at the highest point.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Thickening and hardening of the skin associated with chronic inflammation or irritation.

(Lichenification, NCI Thesaurus)

It is further characterized by an inflammatory reaction in the glomerular capillaries due to the deposition of immune complexes and subsequent thickening of the glomerular basement membrane.

(Nephrotic Syndrome with Lesion of Membranous Glomerulonephritis, NCI Thesaurus)