richeningn.
/ˈrɪtʃn̩ɪŋ/, /ˈrɪtʃ(ə)nɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪtʃənɪŋ/ The action of richen v.; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > increase in intensity
intention1603
intension1610
exasperation1633
exaltation1729
intensation1826
intensification1864
richening1881
hotting-up1940
the world > matter > colour > quality of colour > [noun] > saturation > intensity > becoming intense
richening1881
1881 P. Brooks in Atlantic Monthly 48 550 The softening and richening of opinions.
1896 ‘I. Maclaren’ Kate Carnegie 386 ‘Marget,’ began Kate, not with a blush, but rather a richening of colour.
1935 Salt Lake Tribune 15 Apr. 16/2 Increased longevity, however, does produce a marked richening of life.
1961 G. Steiner Death of Trag. (1996) iii. 86 The difference is more than a richening of talent.
2000 Euromoney Oct. 100 This year we have seen a richening of the market brought on by scarcity value.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
richeningadj.
/ˈrɪtʃn̩ɪŋ/, /ˈrɪtʃ(ə)nɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈrɪtʃənɪŋ/ That is becoming richer; (also) that richens something.
ΚΠ
1856 C. Mayne Madeline Clare 194 When spring and summer, and the richening autumn chased each other over the fertile country.
1896 Scribner's Mag. Feb. 222/1 The light..connects the Little Ararat in a common harmony with the richening tints of the plain.
1958 Stud. in Philol. 55 86 The result of this fresh view..has been to emphasize the importance of the later novels, to see in them a richening artistry.
1985 Film Q. Summer 19/2 That strangely liberating moment of visual self-reference has retroactive repercussions which are peculiarly richening for the film as a whole.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1881adj.1856