as in archaic
having passed its time of use or usefulness
fossilized notions about the proper place of women in society
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fossilized
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
The Giant Octopus Fossil That Unlocked Everything The discovery is based on giant octopus fossil evidence — specifically, fossilized beaks (jaws), which are the only hard parts of an octopus’s body and the only parts likely to survive over millions of years.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
The team studied fossilized jaws and the wear patterns on them to reconstruct the sizes and feeding behaviors of the ancient octopuses.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fossilized
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
The Giant Octopus Fossil That Unlocked Everything The discovery is based on giant octopus fossil evidence — specifically, fossilized beaks (jaws), which are the only hard parts of an octopus’s body and the only parts likely to survive over millions of years.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2026
The team studied fossilized jaws and the wear patterns on them to reconstruct the sizes and feeding behaviors of the ancient octopuses.
—Kate Wong, Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for fossilized
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fossilized
Adjective
-
The sixth block in the Parthenon’s tympanum—or recessed space—was restored by combining a pair of archaic fragments with new pieces of marble, while the seventh block has been completed using only fresh marble.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
22 June 2026
-
His department of justice brought back the firing squad on federal row in April of 2026; several states now also use what was once considered an archaic method.—
Brenna Ehrlich,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
If unethical actors can deploy custom frontier AI models to aggressively interrogate smart contracts and find hidden protocol flaws, human-only defensive audits will be rendered obsolete.—
Sean Stein Smith,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
-
Now, new clean technology, known as direct reduction, is fast replacing the old, obsolete blast furnaces that have been polluting our community for more than 100 years.—
Lori Latham,
Chicago Tribune,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
The modern Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar system replaced the aircraft’s antiquated radar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
-
Farms open up between the forestry, and the antiquated Martindale Chief Diner hangs on a curb.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
15 June 2026
Adjective
-
In prehistoric times, that blue sensitivity would have meant that melatonin production fired up a couple of hours after sunset and shut down just before sunrise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 June 2026
-
The team found that the prehistoric plague developed in stages and infected several small families.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Adjective
-
In one corner of the café, there’s a parking spot exclusively for broomsticks; upstairs in the games room, a smoke-breathing dragon perches over a medieval-style fireplace.—
Zoey Goto,
Vogue,
19 June 2026
-
Among the finds are a 4th-century coin bearing the face of Emperor Constantine, as well as medieval pottery fragments bearing markings archaeologists have not yet deciphered.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Fossilized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fossilized. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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