---
title: thicken — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «thicken» in the school dictionary: To thicken is to become thicker, or to make something thicker. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# thicken

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** liquid, crowd, Fog, plot, story, you · **What happens:** thicken, be, make, become, mean, stir · **To what, where:** something, sauce, flour, soup, road, crowd · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«thicken» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [thicken in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/thicken.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To thicken is to become thicker, or to make something thicker.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:m1:1
# text = To thicken is to become thicker, or to make something thicker.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	thicken	thicken	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	become	become	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	thicker	thick	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obj	_	_
12	thicker	thick	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | become, thick *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | thick *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset something=Product |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A liquid that thickens becomes less runny, like sauce or custard.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:m2:1
# text = A liquid that thickens becomes less runny, like sauce or custard.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	liquid	liquid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	thickens	thicken	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	becomes	become	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	_
7	runny	runny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	sauce	sauce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	custard	custard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | present | a liquid |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **become** | present | a liquid |  |  |  |  | runny *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fog, smoke or a crowd that thickens becomes denser.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:m3:1
# text = Fog, smoke or a crowd that thickens becomes denser.
1	Fog	fog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	crowd	crowd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	thickens	thicken	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	becomes	become	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	denser	dense	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | present | a crowd |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **become** | present | Fog and smoke or a crowd |  |  |  |  | dense *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«The plot thickens» means a story or situation becomes more mysterious and complicated.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:m4:1
# text = «The plot thickens» means a story or situation becomes more mysterious and complicated.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	plot	plot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	thickens	thicken	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	situation	situation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	becomes	become	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
12	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	13	advmod	_	_
13	mysterious	mysterious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	xcomp	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	complicated	complicated	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** *in a quote* | present | the plot |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **become** | present | a story or situation |  |  |  |  | mysterious *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stir the sauce until it thickens.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x1:1
# text = Stir the sauce until it thickens.
1	Stir	stir	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	sauce	sauce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	thickens	thicken	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stir** | imperative | you *not said here* | the sauce |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus sauce=Experiencer |
| 2 | **thicken** | present | sauce |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Add flour to thicken the soup.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x2:1
# text = Add flour to thicken the soup.
1	Add	add	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	flour	flour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	thicken	thicken	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	soup	soup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **add** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* | flour |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent flour=Patient |
| 2 | **thicken** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | the soup |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent soup=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fog thickened and we could not see the road.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x3:1
# text = The fog thickened and we could not see the road.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fog	fog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	thickened	thicken	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
5	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | past | the fog |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **see** | could | we | the road |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer road=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crowd thickened near the stage.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x4:1
# text = The crowd thickened near the stage.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crowd	crowd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	thickened	thicken	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	near	near	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	stage	stage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | participle |  | the crowd *not said here* |  | the stage |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ice on the pond thickened during the cold night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x5:1
# text = The ice on the pond thickened during the cold night.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	pond	pond	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	thickened	thicken	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	during	during	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | past | the ice on the pond |  |  |  | night |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then the missing key turned up in Ben's bag — the plot thickens!

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x6:1
# text = Then the missing key turned up in Ben's bag — the plot thickens!
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	missing	missing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	key	key	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
5	turned	turn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	Ben	Ben	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	bag	bag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
11	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	plot	plot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	thickens	thicken	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn up** | participle |  | the missing key *not said here* |  | Ben's bag |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in bag=Location |
| 2 | **thicken** | present | the missing key |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Trees thicken their trunks a little every year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thicken:x7:1
# text = Trees thicken their trunks a little every year.
1	Trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	thicken	thicken	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	trunks	trunk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thicken** | present | Trees | Trees's trunks |  |  | year | a little *obl:unmarked* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent trunk=Patient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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