Deepens

Deepens is the third-person singular present tense form of the verb deepen. It is used to describe making something deeper or becoming deeper, and it appears in both transitive and intransitive constructions. The base verb is deepen, and its present participle is deepening.

Etymology and forms: Deepen comes from the adjective deep, with the English suffix -en added to form a verb meaning to cause to become deep or more deep. The word sections into different grammatical uses through standard English inflection, with deepens serving as the present-tense agreement form for third-person singular subjects.

Usage and senses: In physical or spatial contexts, deepens can describe an increase in depth, such as a river or trench becoming deeper. For example, "The river deepens at the bend," or "The trench deepens as workers excavate further." In abstract or figurative senses, deepens often refers to intensification or expansion of a condition, knowledge, or feeling. For example, "The crisis deepens," or "Her understanding deepens through practice." Deepens can also express the act of increasing complexity or nuance, as in "The plot deepens with new revelations." Transitive use can pair with a direct object, as in "to deepen a hole" or "to deepen one's empathy," whereas intransitive uses describe a process without a direct object, as in "Interest in the topic deepens over time."

Notes: Deepens is commonly used across academic, literary, and everyday language to indicate growth in depth, whether literal (depth of water, holes) or metaphorical (insight, relationships). Its opposite in most contexts is shallows or shallowens, though shallows is more typically used as a noun or verb related to becoming shallow.

See also: deepen, depth, deepening.