fossilized

adjective

fos·​sil·​ized ˈfä-sə-ˌlīzd 

1

: having been changed into a fossil : subjected to fossilization

fossilized wood

And in 1997 he found several thousand fossilized eggs from a giant sauropod, or plant-eating dinosaur, just 120 miles north. The find included the first-known fossilized dinosaur embryos, as bits of fossilized dino-skin.

—Eric Niiler

2

: old and unchanging or outmoded

fossilized notions

As the mountains get higher, the houses become tin-roof shacks, with yards full of fossilized appliances and ancient cars.

—Elizabeth Gilbert

: made firm, fixed, or rigid by the passage of time

I love the living language more than the fossilized variety with its hardened meanings and set-in-stone lexicon.

—Paul McFedries

I know when I took photos in the past I was looking either for particularly artistic shots or ones that might become fossilized memories adorning a mantel.

—Robert W. Lucky

Synonyms of fossilized

• archaic
• obsolete
• antiquated
• prehistoric
• medieval

Examples of fossilized in a Sentence

fossilized notions about the proper place of women in society

Recent Examples on the Web

Scientists recently uncovered fossilized jawbones of Nanaimoteuthis haggarti – a massive, kraken-like octopus that roamed Earth about 72 million years ago. —Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 4 June 2026

Made from fossilized phytoplankton, DE is approved for organic gardens and can be sprinkled directly onto ant hills to kill ants. —Lauren Landers, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2026

These beaches are some of the best in Florida for finding shells and fossilized shark teeth, especially near the fort and jetties. —Taryn Shorr-McKee, Travel + Leisure, 31 May 2026

How fitting, then, that a primitive predator from five hundred and sixty million years ago, a fossilized example of which was discovered near where the young David grew up, should have been named Auroralumina attenboroughii in his honor. —Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for fossilized

• acclimatized
• aerosolized
• alphabetized
• aluminized
• anaesthetized
• anesthetized
• annualized
• antagonized
• apologised
• apologized
• capitalised
• capitalized