accrete
Build up slowly
Accrete means to grow by gradual accumulation or addition.
Matter accretes around a core; dust accreted into planets over millions of years.
The word appears most often in scientific contexts—astronomy, geology, biology—but extends to abstractions: Power accreted to the executive branch over decades.
The related noun is accretion.
Collect in quantity
- collectBring items together
- gatherBring or come together
- aggregateCombined sum total
- consolidateUnite separate things
pile · stockpile · assemble · heap · mass · pool · clump · concentrate
Primordial orbiting rock
- protoplanetaryPreceding planetary formation
- nebulaInterstellar gas formation
- coalescenceUniting into one mass
- star formationDense cloud becomes sun
interstellar · clumping · agglomeration · planet formation · dust · gas · satellite · moonlet
Cause gradual growth
- enlargeIncrease in size
- swellIncrease in size
- augmentIncrease in size
- proliferateReproduce or spread swiftly
expand · increment · snowball · compound · build up · layer · thicken · add
Inscribed memorial tablet
- tartarHardened dental plaque
- cholesterolWaxy lipid in blood
- calcificationMineral hardening of tissue
- depositsMaterial settled or stored
encrustation · residue · coating · calcium · barnacles · coral · pearl · oyster
Particles settling in liquid
- strataParallel geological layers
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- mineralsInorganic natural solids
sedimentary · crystallization · calcite · sandstone · alluvial · loess · stalactite · stalagmite
Absorbing territory into jurisdiction
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- expansionIncrease in scope
- extensionAdded part or duration
imperialism · territorial · land grab · incorporation · absorption · acquisition · encroachment · consolidation
amass
Collect in quantity
consolidate · pile · stockpile · assemble · heap · mass · pool · clump · concentrate · coalesce
planetesimal
Primordial orbiting rock
- protoplanetaryPreceding planetary formation
- nebulaInterstellar gas formation
- coalescenceUniting into one mass
star formation · interstellar · clumping · agglomeration · planet formation · dust · gas · satellite · moonlet · asteroids
develop
Cause gradual growth
proliferate · expand · increment · snowball · compound · build up · layer · thicken · add · supplement
plaque
Inscribed memorial tablet
- tartarHardened dental plaque
- cholesterolWaxy lipid in blood
- calcificationMineral hardening of tissue
deposits · encrustation · residue · coating · calcium · barnacles · coral · pearl · oyster · biofilm
sedimentation
Particles settling in liquid
- strataParallel geological layers
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
minerals · sedimentary · crystallization · calcite · sandstone · alluvial · loess · stalactite · stalagmite · travertine
annexation
Absorbing territory into jurisdiction
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- expansionIncrease in scope
extension · imperialism · territorial · land grab · incorporation · absorption · acquisition · encroachment · consolidation
accretedisperse
Cause to spread apart
scatter · dissipate · diffuse · disintegrate · erode
accretedisintegrate
Break into fragments
fragment · separate · detach · disaggregate · break apart