deepening
deepening — adjective
- deepeningpositive
- more deepeningcomparative
- most deepeningsuperlative
1. becoming stronger, more serious, or more extreme in degree — for example, growin
becoming stronger, more serious, or more extreme in degree — for example, growing political arguments, darkening evening shadows, or more serious worries that keep building.
The deepening argument between the two families worried everyone in the village.
deepening + abstract noun (argument, crisis, concern)
Reema stared into the deepening shadows under the old oak tree and felt afraid.
Doctors warned that the deepening health crisis could soon overwhelm the hospital.
The deepening red of the sunset made everyone stop and pull out a phone.
Yara could hear deepening sadness in her grandfather's voice when he spoke about the war.
- intensifying
more formal; used for effort, emotion, or conflict
- escalating
specifically about conflict, costs, or danger rising step by step
- growing
more general and neutral; can apply to almost anything that increases
文法句型
deepening + noun
be deepening
用法筆記
This adjective describes a change that is already happening and continuing. The noun it modifies (crisis, shadow, colour, sadness) is usually something that can grow gradually. In predicative position (the crisis is deepening), the form can be read as a continuous verb rather than an adjective — context tells you which.
常見錯誤
deepening — verb
- deepeningpresent simple I / you / we / they
- deepenings3rd person singular
- deepeninging-ing form
- deepeningedpast simple
1. to make something go further down from its surface, or to cause an emotion, a re
to make something go further down from its surface, or to cause an emotion, a relationship, a colour, or a sound to become stronger or more intense.
Gabriel used a shovel to deepen the trench so the rainwater would flow away.
transitive: deepen + physical object (trench, hole, channel)
The yoga classes helped deepen Lukas's understanding of how his own body worked.
collocation: deepen understanding
Reading together every evening deepened the bond between Kofi and his daughter.
The director asked the artist to deepen the blue in the sky of the painting.
- intensify
more formal; often used for effort, colour, or feeling
- strengthen
focuses on making something more powerful rather than deeper
- increase
general; less specific about depth or intensity
文法句型
deepen + noun phrase
用法筆記
Common objects fall into two groups: concrete physical things that can be dug (hole, trench, channel) and abstract things that grow stronger (understanding, relationship, conflict, voice). With abstract objects the verb is slightly more formal. The sense "make deeper in colour or sound" also fits here but usually uses deepening as a present participle (deepening the tone, deepening the shade).
常見錯誤
2. to grow in depth, strength, or seriousness by itself over time, without being fo
to grow in depth, strength, or seriousness by itself over time, without being forced by an outside cause — such as water in a well getting deeper, a voice becoming lower, or a problem becoming more serious.
Over the long summer, Maeve's friendship with the new neighbour deepened.
As the night went on, the silence inside the old house deepened.
intransitive: subject is abstract (silence, darkness, crisis)
Tomás's voice deepened noticeably when he turned seventeen.
The political crisis deepened after the prime minister suddenly resigned.
Daichi noticed that his interest in history deepened as he read more books.
文法句型
deepen (no direct object)
用法筆記
The subject is the thing that changes by itself — no person or force acts on it. Typical subjects include relationships (friendship, love), negative situations (crisis, conflict, recession), natural phenomena (darkness, shadows, water), and personal attributes (voice, interest, understanding). Because the verb is intransitive, it cannot take a direct object — you cannot say "the crisis deepened the conflict."