as in exhausted
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 petrified
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
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrified
Verb
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The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is not the primary custodian of police or court records and is often asked to assist only after survivors and attorneys have exhausted other avenues.—
Stephen Martin,
Oklahoma Watch,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Advertisement Venezuelans are exhausted after 26 years of Chavismo.—
Boris Muñoz,
Time,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Union leaders are harassed and arrested, workplaces remain perilous, and bargaining is undermined by intimidation and retaliation.—
Tharo Khun,
Sourcing Journal,
8 Jan. 2026
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Among them were her dissatisfaction with celebrity culture, her sense that her dignity was being undermined by the media — and, crucially, a gesture toward Cydney Bernard, whom Foster thanked by name and identified as her ex-partner and co-parent.—
Daniel D'Addario,
Variety,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Even hospital appointments were overwhelming, with bright lights leaving her drained and overstimulated.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
13 Jan. 2026
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This vast gulf between us, not just as Americans but as human beings, has drained me of hope.—
Bao Phi,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Complimentary data from uGMRT reveals a very steep radio spectrum indicative of old, weakened plasma particles.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
15 Jan. 2026
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The body tries to repair the damage, but healing is often slow and incomplete, leaving the bone weakened and vulnerable to collapse or deformity — changes that can lead to lasting hip problems.—
Miriam Fauzia,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Deputies went to Sargent’s house on Ed Swift Road the next day and found two more dogs that were also malnourished, dehydrated and full of worms, according to the report.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
9 Jan. 2026
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On the other hand, a more recent 2021 study found no benefit from four weeks of running while dehydrated three times a week.—
Alex Hutchinson,
Outside,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Sereno proposes that the creatures’ carcasses were first desiccated in a drought before suddenly being engulfed by sediment—likely brought on by a flood.—
Andrea Tamayo,
Scientific American,
23 Oct. 2025
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The authors argue that those features, the intact, hyper-flexed skeletons and the absence of the disarticulation expected after ordinary decay, indicate bodies had been desiccated before burial rather than interred as fresh cadavers.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Set in the Italian opera world of the 1700s, Rice’s novel tells the not-for-the-squeamish story of two male soprano singers who were castrated as boys in order to maintain their high voices.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
12 Nov. 2025
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The book follows two men pursuing opera in 18th-century Italy — one, named Guido, is castrated to preserve his soprano singing voice, and the other, Tonio, is castrated by his brother Carlo in an attempt to control their family line.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
12 Nov. 2025
Verb
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For the Los Angeles premiere of Marty Supreme, the two wore custom Chrome Hearts looks.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
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Emma Stone wore comfy, but sophisticated silk pants to a Louis Vuitton event in New York.—
Kaitlin Clapinski,
InStyle,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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