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 first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius.
—
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 May 2026
Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
In group chats and meetings, Republicans are privately petrified the Iran war could cost them the midterms.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 May 2026
Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
In group chats and meetings, Republicans are privately petrified the Iran war could cost them the midterms.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 16 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrified
Verb
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An April shipment of crude — one of the only oil deliveries this year — has been exhausted, with Cuba’s minister of energy and mines announcing this week that the country lacks fuel to power its antiquated electrical grid and is relying on domestic oil and solar panels.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2026
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Meanwhile, in 2023, at a time when I was exhausted from the seeming futility of constantly writing and talking about it, fascism and the decline of democracy became popular topics in the mainstream media.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
Verb
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Her crime undermined and endangered legitimate nonprofit organizations that rely on donations and taxpayers' funds to carry out necessary and important charitable work.—
Anthony Bettin,
CBS News,
19 May 2026
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But Dennis has also undermined another ESPN property, the WNBA, by openly rooting against Caitlin Clark’s fans.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
Snowball viburnum prefers moist, loamy soil that is well-drained but tolerates other soils.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
17 May 2026
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At 92, the actress brought a blast of old Hollywood glamour to a festival that, this year especially, has often felt strangely drained of it.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
16 May 2026
Verb
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However, when the researchers adjusted the findings for other factors that can affect risk for the conditions, known as confounders — such as genetic and familial influences and the reasons for taking antidepressants — most links significantly weakened or disappeared.—
Kristen Rogers,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
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Starmer’s authority weakened after Labor’s poor performance in recent elections, blamed on policy missteps, economic struggles, and the prime minister’s controversial decisions, including appointing an ambassador with ties to Jeffrey Epstein.—
Pan Pylas,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Skipping Water First Thing in the Morning After several hours of sleep, your body naturally wakes up mildly dehydrated.—
Sarah Jividen,
Verywell Health,
22 May 2026
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There is literally no food waste but what cannot be used is dehydrated and compressed and taken back to Cape Town to be used as compost.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
21 May 2026
Verb
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Her flesh is desiccated and gray, her hands and feet are jagged claws, and her breath comes out in rasps.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 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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If the very successful 25-year-old Coward had been caught with a man, he could have been jailed or chemically castrated.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
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After his conviction, Turing was chemically castrated.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Bella wore a gold dress from Michael Kors's spring 2023 ready-to-wear collection.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
19 May 2026
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In early March, Paris Jackson wore black slouchy over-the-knee boots to Vivienne Westwood’s fall 2026 show in Paris after choosing tighter sock-boot shapes earlier that week.—
Maggie Clancy,
Footwear News,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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