petrified

verb

Definition of petrifiednext
past tense of petrify
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrified
  1. exhausted
  2. undermined
  3. drained
  4. weakened
  5. dehydrated
  6. desiccated
  7. castrated
  8. wore
Verb
  • Players were exhausted after nearly two years of shifting restrictions and the stress of constantly facing the possibility of solitary confinement in a foreign city.
    — Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 25 July 2026
  • While the use of subpoena power against journalists has always been highly controversial, officials in past administrations sometimes justified it by arguing it was used as a last resort, after other investigative avenues were exhausted.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
Definition of exhausted
Verb
  • Their ability to help should not be undermined by corporations determined to bleed them dry.
    — Peter Ubel, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • Chelsea’s lack of centre-back continuity undermined them throughout last season, but Lacroix is already comfortable playing in a back three after working under Oliver Glasner at Crystal Palace.
    — Graham Ruthven, New York Times, 31 July 2026
Definition of undermined
Verb
  • Still, these legal battles and the year of strikes drained the UMWA financially.
    — Elijah TanAll, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 July 2026
  • The soil is just as dense, heavy, and poorly drained as ever.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 29 July 2026
Definition of drained
Verb
  • Except that the original ideas about the fundamental value of basic research have only been confirmed during this period, not weakened.
    — Scott Montgomery, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • But his father had come home later than usual, and his resolve had steadily weakened.
    — Cynthia Zarin, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakened
Verb
  • The medical examiner ruled the boy died by homicide, noting he was malnourished and dehydrated.
    — Alice Gainer, CBS News, 30 July 2026
  • In the new cover story, Shania shares that she was dehydrated and undernourished from not eating enough protein and lacking key nutrients.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 30 July 2026
Definition of dehydrated
Verb
  • Olive trees, desiccated from the Xylella fastidiosa bacterial epidemic, are consumed by fire and slump to the ground in a burnished black heap.
    — Angelica Calabrese, Longreads, 7 July 2026
  • 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
Definition of desiccated
Verb
  • Those expectations got castrated because of last season’s early struggles.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
  • Earlier this month, on Monday, June 8, Municipal Court Judge Louis Sancinito found Lowe guilty of possessing the deer without a permit, interfering with a conservation officer attempting to confiscate the animal, and having Rudy illegally castrated.
    — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026
Definition of castrated
Verb
  • For the outing, Cox wore a black swimsuit paired with a gray cover-up, black sunglasses and a black hat.
    — Angelique Brenes, PEOPLE, 30 July 2026
  • During one scene, Einbinder — dressed in a replica of a black dress Gyllenhaal wore in the original film — acted out an explicit orgasm as described in the script, breaking character in the middle of the scene to double over laughing.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 29 July 2026
Definition of wore

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Cite this Entry

“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 6 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on petrified

Nglish: Translation of petrified for Spanish Speakers

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