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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This latest denial likely closes the door for Williams to open a dispensary at the Broadway location — having exhausted most administrative routes.—
Hannah Elsmore,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
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In one panel, children maimed or exhausted by labor stare out bleakly; in another, unemployed men in a small industrial town sit or stand around.—
Judith Shulevitz,
The Atlantic,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The cost of maintaining death row prisoners and a number of botched executions in recent years—lethal injections or gas administrations that take far too long to work, for example—have also undermined confidence.—
The Week US,
TheWeek,
13 Apr. 2026
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The union’s credibility is also undermined by its response to the fact-finding process.—
Marc Joffe,
Daily News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jaylin Williams plowed through a screening Murray as Jokic drained a triple, enabling the Nuggets to tie it with a fortuitous 4-point play.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
12 Apr. 2026
-
But what happens when that colorful explosion leaves stains long after the water has drained?—
Caroline Lubinsky,
Martha Stewart,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed weakened rules governing the safe disposal of ash produced by burning coal.—
Michael Phillis,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
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But these strengths are being weakened by leadership that has failed to prioritize affordability and competitiveness.—
Randy Altschuler,
Baltimore Sun,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And if salt and water start to move, so, too, does the phlegm that has been sitting dehydrated in the lungs of CF patients.—
Courtney Crowder,
USA Today,
10 Apr. 2026
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Each bag filled with red lentils, long grain rice, dehydrated vegetables and a mix of vitamins contained enough for six meals.—
Elizabeth Marie Himchak,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
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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
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Dried or desiccated coconut flakes can be replaced with fresh coconut meat, or omit.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After his conviction, Turing was chemically castrated.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
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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
Verb
-
Marcano wore her hair in braids and smiled often.—
Sarah Stillman,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Indian Premier League team the Mumbai Indians wore black armbands and observed a minute’s silence to commemorate her yesterday evening.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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