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
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
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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That tone—of pain, of surprise, of a stubborn refusal to be reduced or diminished—is everywhere in it.—
Questlove,
The Atlantic,
7 Nov. 2025
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If the stain is stubborn, add a few drops of dish soap to the water and vinegar mixture.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The attorney general was adamant that if Running Fence broke the law, workers would be arrested and jailed, and contractors would lose their licenses.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
-
Lownie is adamant that their friendship dates back to 1991.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
That vision’s crystallized into something real.—
Kimberly Wilson,
Essence,
3 Nov. 2025
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Plans for a fourth film, set to be released in 2011, never crystallized.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Still, some military analysts remain cautious, noting that satellites are built to endure intense cosmic radiation with hardened components and shielding, leaving open the question of whether such directed energy could penetrate these defenses.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
8 Nov. 2025
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If this group of hardened degenerates was able to enjoy the action at this level, who, exactly, are the spiritual victims of sports betting?—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
7 Nov. 2025
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 28 Nov. 2025.
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