Thins

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To reduce thickness or density, to narrow in size, or to lessen in strength or volume can all be described in this context
2. In terms of dimensions, it can mean becoming slender or having a lower density, as well as diminishing in force or quantity
3. To cause something to have reduced thickness or fewer particles throughout ; to grow or become more slender or less numerous

Etymology: "Thins" is the third-person singular form of "thin," the verb meaning to become less dense. The verb and its adjective share one root, so the sense of "thin" as "less dense" is the older physical one that the verb simply expresses directly. The root is ancient: Proto-Germanic "þunnuz" descends from a Proto-Indo-European adjective built on a root meaning "to stretch." That stretching sense is the hidden idea. Something thin is something pulled out over a wide area, and the same root gives Sanskrit "tanú," meaning "thin," and Latin "tenuis," which English took directly as a separate word. "Tenuis" and "thin" are doublets: two words from one source that entered English by different routes. The Latin family also gave English "tenuous," which keeps the stretched-out idea, now applied to weak or slender links rather than to physical bulk.

Synonyms: slims, narrows, reduces, dilutes

Antonyms: thickens, fattens, strengthens