as in to undermine
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 petrify
He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.
—
Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
The body was supposedly petrified by sap, and the loggers found several gold coins dating to the late 1600s, as well as pieces of paper identifying the person as Pierre D’Artagnan.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
But Ingrid is petrified of dying and tries to convince Martha there is still plenty worth living for.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
The body was supposedly petrified by sap, and the loggers found several gold coins dating to the late 1600s, as well as pieces of paper identifying the person as Pierre D’Artagnan.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
But Ingrid is petrified of dying and tries to convince Martha there is still plenty worth living for.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
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The journalists' arrests sparked outrage among free press advocates, who say the prosecutions undermine First Amendment freedoms and have called for prosecutors to drop the misdemeanor charges.—
Quinlan Bentley,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
2 Oct. 2025
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But solar advocates pushed back, warning that the changes would lengthen payback periods, discourage solar investment and undermine clean energy goals adopted by cities like Boise.—
Angela Palermo,
Idaho Statesman,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For investors, even opposition threats of repeal weaken confidence by raising doubts about long-term policy stability.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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While his core supporters remain loyal, sustained disapproval among the broader public could weaken his leverage in negotiations with Congress and erode confidence in his leadership.—
Robert Birsel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hand sinks in kitchen not draining properly.—
Gege Reed,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
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Advertisement Between 1980 and 1988, as the war with Iraq drained the national budget, only a handful of dams were under construction.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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Any cell drifting in the skies is blasted with UV rays and desiccated.—
Katherine Bourzac,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Given how many comebacks the Pacers had in the playoffs, there is some evidence that all that pressure (plus a relentless offensive pace) exhausts teams over 48 minutes.—
Eric Koreen,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
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Dassey, now 35, has exhausted his appeal efforts.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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If your efforts at home are not working and your skin is still dehydrated, contact a dermatologist for an evaluation.—
Sherri Gordon,
Health,
1 Oct. 2025
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How to treat norovirus While there is no specific treatment to treat the illness, the CDC recommends drinking lots of water or other drinks, like sports drinks, that don’t have caffeine or alcohol, which dehydrate you.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Some of these values—such as a disciplined commitment to physical fitness—are good and, in my opinion, necessary correctives to the enervating distractions of 21st-century living.—
Dan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
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Bears do not truly hibernate, but instead enervate, or enter a state of torpor, in their dens.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Donkey has now been castrated, and the adorable family trio lives together in a large field with Partridge's other horses.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
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The opera premiered in Rome at a time when castrati, or castrated male singers, took on treble roles; a papal decree forbade women from performing onstage.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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