thickening

/ˈθɪkənɪŋ/

//ˈθɪkənɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"thickening" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thickening” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #35,983. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#35,983
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The process of making something, or becoming, thick or viscous.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thickening · thickening · English

thickening · rank #35,983 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #35,983
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH testicle

Nearest frequency peer: testicle (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thickening”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thickening” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

thickening vs ticketing
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for thickening
PropertyValue
Headwordthickening
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈθɪkənɪŋ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#35,983
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thickening”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).thickeninglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “testicle” (#35,982), “terracotta” (#35,981), “thrush” (#35,985). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thickening” is #35,983. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around thickening (IPA /ˈθɪkənɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #35,983 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for thickening, with forms such as "htickening", "thcikening", and "thhickening". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "ticketing", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From thicken + -ing. The correct English form is thickening, spelled T-H-I-C-K-E-N-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The process of making something, or becoming, thick or viscous.
  2. 2
    A substance, usually a source of starch, used to thicken a sauce.
  3. 3
    A thickened part of a structure.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how thickening appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. […] the inner layer (of nearly equally large cells) lacks the regular semiannular or annular thickenings of most other leafy liverworts […]
  2. They disappear at once on slightly relaxing the air-pressure, whilst true incipient thickenings of the surface remain white and unpliably stiff.

Etymology

From thicken + -ing.

This word in other languages

épaississement(Français)Verdickungsmittel(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htickening
  • thcikening
  • thhickening
  • thicckening
  • thicekning
  • thickeinng
  • thickenign
  • thickeningg
  • thickeninng
  • thickennig
  • thickenning
  • thickkening
  • thickneing
  • thikcening
  • tihckening
  • tthickening

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thickening - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

htickening2thcikening2thhickening1thicckening1thicekning2thickeinng2thickenign2thickeningg1
Edit distance from "thickening"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "thickening"?
"thickening" is spelled T-H-I-C-K-E-N-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈθɪkənɪŋ/.
What does "thickening" mean?
As a noun, "thickening" means: The process of making something, or becoming, thick or viscous.
What words are commonly confused with "thickening"?
"thickening" is commonly confused with "ticketing". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thickening"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thickening" is /ˈθɪkənɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "thickening"?
From thicken + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "thickening", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

terracotta#35,981succinctly#35,966unprovoked#36,002specialise#35,952

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

scriptural16 variantsportraiture16 variantselaboration16 variantsfanfiction16 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list