Deepening

How to spell deepening

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce deepening

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deepening mean?

1. verbMaking or becoming deeper, more intense, or more profound.
2. nounThe process or fact of something becoming deeper or more intense.

Deepening in a sentence

• verb

  The deepening recession forced the company to cut its budget.

• noun

  The report noted a deepening of the trade ties between the two nations.

• verb

  A deepening sense of dread settled over the team before the audit.

• noun

  Analysts warned of a further deepening of the housing crisis.

Where does deepening come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows directly from the native Old English adjective 'deop', meaning 'profound' or 'far down', which belongs to the same Germanic family that gave German 'tief' and Dutch 'diep'. English speakers turned the adjective into a verb by adding the suffix '-en', a productive ending that means 'to make or become', so 'deepen' literally means 'to make deeper'; the same pattern produced 'widen', 'harden', and 'strengthen'. The present participle and gerund 'deepening' was then formed with the familiar '-ing' ending, used both for the ongoing action and for the noun naming it. The verb 'deepen' itself only became common in the late 1500s, replacing the older simple verb 'deep'. The spelling is mostly transparent, but the trap lives in the middle: the unstressed 'en' can be swallowed in speech, so writers sometimes drop or muddle it, and the single 'p' tempts an unnecessary doubling.

How the word is built

• deep (root adjective)
• -en (verb-forming suffix: to make or become)
• -ing (present participle / gerund suffix)