thickening
/ˈθɪkənɪŋ/noun, adjective, verb
thickening is spelled T-H-I-C-K-E-N-I-N-G: 10 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, thickening means “The process of making something, or becoming, thick or viscous” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of thickening is thickenings.
How many letters and syllables are in thickening?
| Letters | 10: T-H-I-C-K-E-N-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is thickening?
Thickening appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce thickening?
- /ˈθɪkənɪŋ/
Thickening has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-thickening.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of thickening
- thickenings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does thickening mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The process of making something, or becoming, thick or viscous.
- 2
A substance, usually a source of starch, used to thicken a sauce.
- 3
A thickened part of a structure.
adjective
- 1
Beginning to thicken, becoming thicker.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of thicken
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Thickening in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | épaississement , épaississant |
| German | Dickwerden , Verdickungsmittel |
| Portuguese | espessamento , espessante |
| Spanish | espesamiento , espesante |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does thickening come from?
From thicken + -ing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).