the.com/widens
The verb that gives things room to be bigger, or worse.
means Makes or becomes broader, more open, or greater in extent, scope, or degree.
from From Old English wid, meaning broad or spacious, plus the verb-forming -en that turns adjectives into actions, the same suffix lurking in sharpen and harden.
gap dutyFamously what economic inequality always seems to do.
two directionsA river widens; so does a plot hole.
sibling suffixThe -en builds darken, soften, deepen too.