as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
the company's ossified management team failed to see the technological revolution that was sweeping their own industry
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Recent Examples of ossified
Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 26 Jan. 2026
This year’s awards narrative was already feeling especially ossified.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
The status quo—an ossified theocracy presiding over a bankrupt economy and an aggrieved populace—has already proven unsustainable.
—Ali Vaez, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
His narrators—never too distinct from the author himself—relish exploring their childhoods in the Sovietized Bulgaria of the nineteen-seventies and eighties, measuring that artificially ossified world against modern consumerist Europe.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Poking out of the vertical wall of a cutbank in a seasonally dry river was a vertebra – part of the backbone – and some ossified tendons.
—Paul C. Sereno, The Conversation, 24 Oct. 2025
Really late developers, who might not be fully grown until around 20 or 21, could be 25 before their apophyseal sites are fully ossified.
—Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
And he's taken aim at the foreign policy apparatus, describing institutions like the NSC and State Department as having been ossified and out of touch.
—Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 26 Jan. 2026
This year’s awards narrative was already feeling especially ossified.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026
The status quo—an ossified theocracy presiding over a bankrupt economy and an aggrieved populace—has already proven unsustainable.
—Ali Vaez, Time, 15 Jan. 2026
His narrators—never too distinct from the author himself—relish exploring their childhoods in the Sovietized Bulgaria of the nineteen-seventies and eighties, measuring that artificially ossified world against modern consumerist Europe.
—James Wood, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Poking out of the vertical wall of a cutbank in a seasonally dry river was a vertebra – part of the backbone – and some ossified tendons.
—Paul C. Sereno, The Conversation, 24 Oct. 2025
Really late developers, who might not be fully grown until around 20 or 21, could be 25 before their apophyseal sites are fully ossified.
—Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ossified
Adjective
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If that doesn’t solve the problem, try scrubbing stubborn spots with Bar Keeper’s Friend and a nonabrasive sponge.—
Jessica Elliott,
Dallas Morning News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Rusk recommends using wash and styling products that don’t contain silicones (like dimethicone), which can cause a stubborn coating to accumulate that clogs follicles on the scalp and prevents the hair from absorbing moisturizing ingredients.—
Rebecca Strong,
USA Today,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Norma Padgett Upshaw, who remained adamant that the four men were the ones involved in her assault, died in 2024.—
News Service Of Florida,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Suleyman’s vision for Microsoft Suleyman is adamant about the technology’s potential.—
Jake Angelo,
Fortune,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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He was then omitted from rosters in September and November as the new culture and on-field identity crystallized.—
Henry Bushnell,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Then came the sentence that crystallized everything.—
Kaitlyn Gomez,
USA Today,
1 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This puts it safely within the light cruise missile-grade of loitering munitions, suggesting it is probably intended for use against hardened or high-value targets.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Fabric layers mesh and bond; glass pellets, mother-of-pearl beads, and cables get nestled into crevices, trapped under hardened strata of varnish.—
Theo Belci,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The only issue is his mother Laura (Wright), a woman who has lost a child once before and is petrified of a repeat.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ossified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ossified. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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