petrify

pet·ri·fy | \ ˈpe-trə-ˌfī

petrified; petrifying

Definition of petrify

1 : to convert (organic matter) into stone or a substance of stony hardness by the infiltration of water and the deposition of dissolved mineral matter

2 : to make rigid or inert like stone:

a : to make lifeless or inactive : deaden slogans are apt to petrify a man's thinking — Saturday Rev.

b : to confound with fear, amazement, or awe a novel about an airline pilot that will petrify you— Martin Levin

intransitive verb

: to become stone or of stony hardness or rigidity

Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about petrify

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Examples of petrify in a Sentence

the processes that petrify wood The dead tree petrified into stone.

Recent Examples on the Web Seeing the beloved creature of my childhood petrified mid-prance in perpetuity was crushing. — Sarah Maslin Nir, New York Times, "Following in the Wake of a Storybook Pony," 8 July 2019 The rest spent Tuesday and Wednesday evenings petrified that their time in Detroit would be their swan song as legitimate candidates. — Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, "The Democratic Party Is Culling the Field Too Soon," 1 Aug. 2019 Pivotal to it: Melcher, supposedly petrified of Manson, was medicated to testify at his trial. — Stephen Phillips, latimes.com, "What really happened in the Manson murders? ‘Chaos’ casts doubt on Helter Skelter theory," 12 July 2019 The creepy face, which became the center of a viral hoax that petrified thousands of parents earlier this year, is reportedly about to be the basis of a horror movie from Orion Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, and producer Taka Ichise. — Julie Muncy, WIRED, "Why the Momo Challenge Film Might Beat the Meme Movie Curse," 12 July 2019 Downright Divine: Kilfenora The birthplace of one of Ireland’s oldest ceili dance bands, Kilfenora looks like it’s been petrified by the surrounding peat bogs. — Serena Renner, National Geographic, "Road trip through the Irish countryside’s wild beauty," 12 Mar. 2019 When the dead and buried don’t petrify, there are other ways that save them from destruction and preserve parts of their bodies with little change over vast spans of geological time. — Anna K. Behrensmeyer, Smithsonian, "How Do Fossils Form?," 8 June 2019 My career was in free fall, and as a single parent, this was petrifying. — John P. Darcy, Vogue, "The Year We Left New York," 27 Dec. 2018 In the days leading up to 500 qualifying, he was petrified for his team. — Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, "IndyCar midseason review, Part I: What’s gone right," 14 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'petrify.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.