Adjacent Words

Deepen definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DEEPEN, v.t.
1. To make deep or deeper; to sink lower; as, to deepen the channel of a river or harbor; to deepen a well.
2. To make dark or darker; to make more thick or gloomy; as, to deepen the shades of night; to deepen gloom.
3. To give a darker hue, or a stronger color; as, to deepen a color; to deepen a red, blue or crimson color.
4. To make more poignant or distressing; as, to deepen grief or sorrow.
5. To make more frightful; as, to deepen the horrors of the scene.
6. To make more sad or gloomy; as, to deepen the murmurs of the flood.
7. To make more grave; as, to deepen the tones of an organ.
DEEPEN, v.i. To become more deep; as, the water deepens at every cast of the lead.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: make more intense, stronger, or more marked; "The efforts were intensified", "Her rudeness intensified his dislike for her"; "Pot smokers claim it heightens their awareness"; "This event only deepened my convictions" [syn: intensify, compound, heighten, deepen]
2: become more intense; "The debate intensified"; "His dislike for raw fish only deepened in Japan" [syn: intensify, deepen]
3: make deeper; "They deepened the lake so that bigger pleasure boats could use it"
4: become deeper in tone; "His voice began to change when he was 12 years old"; "Her voice deepened when she whispered the password" [syn: deepen, change]

Merriam Webster's

verb (deepened; deepening) Date: 1598 transitive verb to make deep or deeper intransitive verb to become deeper or more profound

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. & intr. make or become deep or deeper.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Deepen Deep"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Deepened; p. pr. & vb. n. Deepening.] 1. To make deep or deeper; to increase the depth of; to sink lower; as, to deepen a well or a channel. It would . . . deepen the bed of the Tiber. --Addison. 2. To make darker or more intense; to darken; as, the event deepened the prevailing gloom. You must deepen your colors. --Peacham. 3. To make more poignant or affecting; to increase in degree; as, to deepen grief or sorrow. 4. To make more grave or low in tone; as, to deepen the tones of an organ. Deepens the murmur of the falling floods. --Pope.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Deepen Deep"en, v. i. To become deeper; as, the water deepens at every cast of the lead; the plot deepens. His blood-red tresses deepening in the sun. --Byron.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(deepens, deepening, deepened) 1. If a situation or emotion deepens or if something deepens it, it becomes stronger and more intense. If this is not stopped, the financial crisis will deepen... Surviving tough times can really deepen your relationship. VERB: V, V n 2. If you deepen your knowledge or understanding of a subject, you learn more about it and become more interested in it. He did not get a chance to deepen his knowledge of Poland. = broaden VERB: V n 3. When a sound deepens or is deepened, it becomes lower in tone. Her voice has deepened and coarsened with the years... The music room had been made to reflect and deepen sounds. VERB: V, V n 4. When your breathing deepens, or you deepen it, you take more air into your lungs when you breathe. He heard her breathing deepen... When you are ready to finish the exercise, gradually deepen your breathing. VERB: V, V n 5. If people deepen something, they increase its depth by digging out its lower surface. ...a major project to deepen the channel... VERB: V n 6. Something such as a river or a sea deepens where the bottom begins to slope downwards. As we drew nearer to it the water gradually deepened. VERB: V

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Make deeper, increase the depth of. 2. Make darker, make more intense, darken, intensify. 3. Reduce to a lower tone, make more grave, lower. 4. Make more impressive or efficient, intensify, strengthen, increase, heighten, make more vivid. II. v. n. Grow deeper, become deeper, increase, heighten, become intenser or more decided.

Moby Thesaurus

accelerate, agent provocateur, aggravate, amplify, annoy, augment, beef up, blow up, broaden, build up, burrow, complicate, concentrate, condense, consolidate, countersink, depress, deteriorate, dig, dig out, dive, double, dredge, drill, embitter, enhance, enlarge, exacerbate, exaggerate, exasperate, excavate, expand, extend, heat up, heighten, hop up, hot up, increase, intensify, irritate, jazz up, key up, lower, magnify, make acute, make complex, make worse, mine, mount, outspread, outstretch, provoke, ramify, redouble, reinforce, rise, rouse, scoop out, sharpen, sink, soup up, sour, spread, spread out, step up, strengthen, triple, tunnel, whet, widen, worsen