Thick — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb noun /ˈthik/

Meaning & Definition of Thick

Thick (adjective)

  1. having or being of relatively great depth or extent from one surface to its opposite
  2. strongly and heavily built, burly, thickset
  3. attractively full-figured or curvy

Thick (adverb)

  1. in a thick manner, thickly

Thick (noun)

  1. the most crowded or active part
  2. the part of greatest thickness

Thick (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having or being of relatively great depth or extent from one surface to its opposite

    "a thick board was laid across the pit"

    similar: chunky, fat
    related: blockish, blocky, bulky, dense, hefty, thickish, broad, deep, wide
    opposite: skinny, slender, slim, thin
    near: narrow, shallow

  2. being of a consistency that resists flow

    "thick maple syrup for pancakes"

    similar: ropy, syrupy, viscid, viscous
    related: creamy, heavy, slushy, thickened, thickish, turbid, undiluted, semifluid, semiliquid, gluey, glutinous, sticky, gelatinous, gooey, gummy, jellylike, concentrated, condensed
    opposite: runny, soupy, thin, watery
    near: flowing, fluid, dilute, diluted, liquid, watered-down, weak

  3. closely acquainted

    "those two have been thick since grade school"

    similar: bosom, buddy-buddy, chummy, close, especial, familiar, friendly, inseparable, intimate, inward, near, tight
    related: clannish, close-knit, tight-knit, affable, boon, companionable, convivial, cordial, genial, gracious, hearty, gregarious, sociable, social, comfortable, cozy, easy, snug, amicable, neighborly, confidential, secretive, adoring, affectionate, dear, devoted, fond, loving, tender, tenderhearted, warm
    opposite: distant
    near: aloof, antisocial, cold, cool, detached, distant, frosty, remote, reserved, standoffish, unfriendly, unsociable, withdrawn

  4. having a greater than usual measure across

    "cross your name off the list with a really thick line so I can see it"

    similar: broad, fat, wide
    related: expansive, extensive, sweeping, commodious, roomy, spacious, outsize, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, voluminous
    opposite: hairline, narrow, paper-thin, skinny, slender, slim, slim-jim, thin
    near: fine, hairlike, reedlike, elongate, needlelike, bottleneck, close, compressed, condensed, constricted, contracted, squeezed, tight, tightened, attenuate, attenuated, small, smallish, undersized

  5. having little space between items or parts

    "a hedge thick with gorse bushes"

    similar: close, compact, crowded, dense, jam-packed, packed, serried, tight
    related: crammed, jammed, overcrowded, crushed, massed, pressed, squeezed, wall-to-wall, airtight, snug, compacted, compressed, condensed, congested, firm, hard, solid, impenetrable, impermeable, impervious
    opposite: airy, loose, open, uncrowded
    near: commodious, roomy, spacious

  6. not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

    "couldn't believe that his guests were so thick that they were missing his hints that it was time to leave"

    similar: airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick-witted, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
    related: cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable
    opposite: apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
    near: ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound, logical, rational, reasonable, valid

  7. possessing or covered with great numbers or amounts of something specified

    "a meadow thick with wildflowers"

    similar: abounding, abundant, awash, flush, fraught, lousy, replete, rife, swarming, teeming, thronging
    related: brimming, bulging, bursting, chock-full, crammed, crowded, fat, filled, full, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, packed, saturated, stuffed, clogged, congested, overcrowded, overfilled, overflowing, overfull, overladen, overloaded, overstuffed, surfeited, alive, animated, astir, bustling, busy, buzzing, humming, lively
    near: bare, barren, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void, depleted, drained, exhausted, deficient, incomplete, insufficient, short

Thick (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. the most intense or characteristic phase of something

    "in the thick of winter many Northerners are dreaming of tropical islands"

    similar: deep, depth, height, middle, midst
    related: center, heart

Related Entry: Thick-skinned (adjective)

Thick-skinned is a different word from Thick. The synonyms below are for thick-skinned, not for thick.

  1. having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

    "was so thick-skinned that she was clueless about the fact that the joke had hurt her friend's feelings"

    similar: affectless, callous, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony, stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic
    related: boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking, grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out, oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle, abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent, barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious, austere, cold, frosty
    opposite: charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted
    near: benevolent, benignant, gentle, kind, clement, indulgent, lenient, mild, cordial, friendly, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, tolerant, understanding, affectionate, fond, loving

Related Entry: Thick-witted (adjective)

Thick-witted is a different word from Thick. The synonyms below are for thick-witted, not for thick.

  1. not having or showing an ability to absorb ideas readily

    "one of the most overused clichés of teen comedies: the thick-witted high school jock"

    similar: airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dense, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dorky (slang), dull, dumb, dunderheaded, empty-headed, fatuous, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, mindless, oafish, obtuse, opaque, pinheaded, senseless, simple, slow, slow-witted, soft, softheaded, stupid, thick, thickheaded, unintelligent, unsmart, vacuous, weak-minded, witless
    related: cretinous, feebleminded, simpleminded, boobish, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, ignorant, illiterate, lowbrow, uneducated, uninformed, unintellectual, untaught, unthinking, absurd, asinine, balmy, cockeyed, crackpot, crazy, cuckoo, daffy, daft, dippy, dotty, featherheaded, fool, half-baked, harebrained, insane, kooky, loony, mad, nonsensical, nutty, preposterous, sappy, screwball, silly, tomfool, unwise, wacky, zany, fallacious, illogical, invalid, irrational, unreasonable
    opposite: apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted, smart, supersmart, ultrasmart
    near: ingenious, resourceful, acute, astute, discerning, insightful, keen, knowing, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, savvy, wise, cerebral, erudite, highbrow, intellectual, knowledgeable, learned, literate, scholarly, thinking, well-read, educated, informed, schooled, skilled, trained, crafty, cunning, foxy, shrewd, wily, judicious, prudent, sane, sensible, sound, logical, rational, reasonable, valid

Related Entry: Thick on the ground (phrase)

Thick on the ground is a different word from Thick. The synonyms below are for thick on the ground, not for thick.

  1. being more than enough without being excessive

    "Tourism has been thick on the ground since the new ampitheater opened last fall."

    similar: abundant, ample, aplenty, bounteous, bountiful, comfortable, cornucopian, galore, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plenty, all kinds of
    related: extra, supernumerary, surplus, abounding, blooming, overflowing, plump, replete, rich, rife, teeming, wealthy, adequate, enough, sufficient, fat, fecund, fertile, fruitful, luxuriant, prodigal, prolific, copious, fulsome, lavish, profuse
    opposite: bare, minimal, scant, spare
    near: deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting, meager, stingy, skimpy, least, minimum, light, slight, small, barren, infertile, sterile, unfruitful, unproductive

Related Entry: In the thick of (phrase)

In the thick of is a different word from Thick. The synonyms below are for in the thick of, not for thick.

  1. in or into the middle of

    "We're in the thick of it and it's too late to back down now."

    similar: amid, among, mid, midst, through
    related: between, betwixt
    near: from, out of

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Thick

The most common words with a similar meaning to Thick:

Slang: dorky
Chiefly British: gormless
chunky, fat, ropy, syrupy, viscid, viscous, bosom, buddy-buddy, chummy, close, especial, familiar, friendly, inseparable, intimate, inward, near, tight, broad, wide, compact, crowded, dense, jam-packed, packed, serried, airheaded, birdbrained, bonehead, boneheaded, brain-dead, brainless, bubbleheaded, chuckleheaded, dim, dim-witted, doltish, dopey, dull, dumb

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Thick

Words with the opposite meaning of Thick:

skinny, slender, slim, thin, runny, soupy, watery, distant, hairline, narrow, paper-thin, slim-jim, airy, loose, open, uncrowded, apt, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, fast, hyperintelligent, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp, sharp-witted

Related Words for Thick

blockish, blocky, bulky, hefty, thickish, creamy, heavy, slushy, thickened, turbid, undiluted, semifluid, semiliquid, gluey, glutinous, sticky, gelatinous, gooey, gummy, jellylike, concentrated, condensed, clannish, close-knit, tight-knit, affable, boon, companionable, convivial, cordial

Near Antonyms of Thick

shallow, flowing, fluid, dilute, diluted, liquid, watered-down, weak, aloof, antisocial, cold, cool, detached, frosty, remote, reserved, standoffish, unfriendly, unsociable, withdrawn, fine, hairlike, reedlike, elongate, needlelike, bottleneck, close, compressed, condensed, constricted

Word Forms of Thick

Inflections: thicker, thickest

Derived words: thickish (adjective), thickly (adverb)

Origin & Etymology of Thick

Middle English thikke, from Old English thicce; akin to Old High German dicki thick, Old Irish tiug

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Thick

Words & Phrases Containing Thick

thick and thin, thick on the ground, thick-skinned, thick-witted, thick and fast, thick around the middle, thick as thieves

Frequently Asked Questions about Thick

What does "Thick" mean?

"Thick" means having or being of relatively great depth or extent from one surface to its opposite. As an an adjective, an adverb and a noun, it is defined as: having or being of relatively great depth or extent from one surface to its opposite. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Thick"?

Other words for "Thick" include chunky, fat, ropy, syrupy, viscid, viscous, bosom and buddy-buddy. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Thick" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Thick"?

There are 244 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Thick". Common alternatives include chunky, fat, ropy, syrupy, viscid, viscous, bosom, buddy-buddy, chummy and close.

What is the opposite of "Thick"?

Antonyms of "Thick" include skinny, slender, slim, thin, runny, soupy, watery and distant. Near antonyms include shallow, flowing, fluid and dilute.

How do you use "Thick" in a sentence?

Examples of "Thick" in a sentence: "a thick board was laid across the pit"; "thick maple syrup for pancakes"; "those two have been thick since grade school".

Is "Thick" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Thick" can be used as an adjective, an adverb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Thick" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A2-level word, "Thick" is typical of Cambridge A2 Key (KET), PTE Academic 30–42, TOEIC Listening & Reading 225+.

How do you pronounce "Thick"?

"Thick" is pronounced /ˈthik/.