deepen

[ dee-puhn ]

See synonyms for deepen on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become deep or deeper: Larger ships will be able to navigate the river after the main channel is deepened. The shadows deepened toward late afternoon.
Meteorology. to decrease in atmospheric pressure: a deepening cyclone.

Origin of deepen

First recorded in 1595–1605; deep + -en¹

Other words from deepen

deep·en·er, noun
deep·en·ing·ly, adverb
o·ver·deep·en, verb (used with object)
un·deep·ened, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deepen in a sentence

And what deepens the mystery to me is what his hard-line position gets him.
Rubio’s Embargo Anger Plays to the Past | Michael Tomasky | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
And as the outbreak deepens and advances across more borders (including the U.S.), chatter on Twitter has also spread swiftly.
Ebola Tweets Are Missing the Target | Kevin Zawacki | August 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But this is one of those cases where the judgment of the court only deepens the mystery.
Gems, Guns and Death in a Jungle Mansion | Zach Dyer | May 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
We look with unease on the shadow of wisdom, but refuse to examine it—and our anxiety over all-important tests deepens.
Insufferable Elitism of the SATs | James Poulos | March 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is like a habit-forming drug that, in victory, saps your elation and, in defeat, deepens your despair.
The Night Vince Lombardi Lay Awake Brooding Over a 49-0 Win | W.C. Heinz | January 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Nagging never cured anything except a tendency toward virtue, and it always deepens neurasthenia.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine | Austin Malley
The rain falls, the mud deepens; the beautiful sphinx lies still, her eyes lost in the dull horizon.
The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet
In leaving the pontoon for the offing, the various craft increase in size as the water deepens.
Yachting Vol. 2 | Various.
Other churches to which they have access lack them, and the contrast deepens the love for the old church.
The Leaven in a Great City | Lillian William Betts
The water deepens, as I have said, with great rapidity, and even close alongside the rocks several fathoms may be found.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XXI | Robert Louis Stevenson

British Dictionary definitions for deepen

deepen

/ (ˈdiːpən) /

verb

to make or become deep, deeper, or more intense

Derived forms of deepen

deepener, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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