verb · neutral
thicken
/ˈθɪkən/THICK·en
Band 5-6task1task2
to make something denser or more solid in consistency; to become thicker
Examples
“The sauce will thicken if you simmer it for a few minutes.”
“Fog thickened as evening fell.”
“Tensions thickened in the negotiations after the new demands.”
Band 8 sentence
“As the plot developed, the intrigue thickened and it became clear that the solution would not be simple.”
Collocations
- thicken the sauce
- thicken into a paste
- thicken the fog
Word family
thick adjectivethicken verbthickened adjective / past participlethickness noun
Common mistakes
make thick→thicken
The soup thicken→The soup thickened
thicken up→thicken
Say it for a higher band
5make thick→6become thicker→7+thicken
Synonyms
congeal
densify
Easily confused
congeal
“The fat will congeal when the soup cools.”
Related words
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In -en
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