as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
groupthink and peer pressure have so petrified the thinking of the company's top brass that they haven't produced an innovative product in years
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Recent Examples of petrify
So don’t go around being petrified of having your esophagus rupture someday.
—
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Nearly every day brings a fresh breach of what were once thought to be the rules, moves that have thrilled his insurgent supporters and petrified his nervous opponents.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
Nearly every day brings a fresh breach of what were once thought to be the rules, moves that have thrilled his insurgent supporters and petrified his nervous opponents.
—Peter Baker, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
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Kent’s departure quickly became a flashpoint inside conservative media, with some praising him for taking a stand and others accusing him of undermining the administration during wartime.—
Steve Mollman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
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Time for Warren Buffett to get the owners in the Casa Grande ballroom and run a cost-benefit analysis on the value of undermining the league’s integrity in a sport in bed with gambling against the price of paying officials.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But the president contends there is no excuse for the lack of participation now that Iran's navy has been sunk and its air defenses severely weakened.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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In the state’s view, that weakens or muddies the legal boundary between the two types of gambling venues.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Some fruit trees might prefer wet weather and moist earth, but others will perform best with well-draining, sandy soil.—
Emily Hayes,
Martha Stewart,
2 Apr. 2026
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That includes details that criminals can use to drain accounts, open loans, or impersonate you.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Klosterman wondered if the recent heatwave would desiccate them.—
Lila Seidman,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2026
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Mahdi and Khadija had been struck by drought, and their bed was dry and desiccated, waterless down to its depths.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The idea that forms of artistic expression can exhaust themselves is nothing new.—
Daniel Birnbaum,
Artforum,
2 Apr. 2026
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In 2018, pregnant with her third child, Kate Ames was exhausted.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The child was not dehydrated and was discharged.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
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Though my teammates were dehydrated and slightly red in the summer heat, they were not demoralized.—
Gaby Del Valle,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
25 Mar. 2026
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Jenny deflected me with enervating ease.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Justin Bieber has had multiple stalkers, including a New Mexico man and his nephew who plotted to murder and castrate the pop singer in 2013.—
Tracy Wright,
FOXNews.com,
15 Mar. 2026
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After his conviction, Turing was chemically castrated.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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