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

• antiquated
• archaic
• dated
• démodé
• demoded
• kaput
• kaputt
• medieval
• mediaeval
• moribund
• mossy
• moth-eaten
• neolithic
• Noachian
• obsolete
• out-of-date
• outdated
• outmoded
• outworn
• passé
• prehistoric
• prehistorical
• rusty
• Stone Age
• superannuated

Examples of fossilized in a Sentence

fossilized notions about the proper place of women in society

Recent Examples on the Web

Intrigued, members of the scientific community examined the fossilized skeleton, which soon became a hot topic of discussion at the Royal Society, the most eminent scientific organization in the English-speaking world. —Brenda Wineapple, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2024

Their fossilized teeth, Daniel C. Abel notes, were believed to be the stone tongues of dragons. —Katherine Rundell, The New Yorker, 29 July 2024

Read More: Why These 4 Massive Dinosaurs Also Had the Tiniest Arms The Carcharodontosaurus Grew Slowly A lack of fossilized feet from other species complicates this assessment. —Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 18 June 2024

The sparkle comes from fragments of fossilized clams and snails that lived and died in Cretaceous ponds and lakes. —Kristi Curry Rogers, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1