PETRIFY Synonyms: 79 Similar and Opposite Words

petrify

verb

ˈpe-trə-ˌfī

Definition of petrify

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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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 petrify The filmmaker leans pop-comic rather than petrifying in his final draft, opting for earnestness that smothers atmospheric dread. — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 6 Feb. 2026 The former slingshots between harmony and hysteria; the latter petrifies its beauty under a haze of ashy gray powder. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025 You'll be petrified by the violence inflicted upon boys who only wanted a chance to pull their families out of financial duress and have an opportunity at a comfortable life afforded to most of us sitting in our seats. — Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 13 Sep. 2025 So don’t go around being petrified of having your esophagus rupture someday. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for petrify

Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify

Verb

Seeking to deliberately undermine, delegitimize and destroy is not Madisonian.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Sep. 2026
The strike has undermined the junta’s ability to provide public services.

— Andrew Nachemson, The Dial, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of undermine

Verb

People familiar with the deliberations said lawmakers worried the requirements would raise drug prices and weaken national security by revealing the precise locations where lifesaving medications are made.

— Naisha Roy, ProPublica, 18 Sep. 2026
Macron warned that the attacks would not go unanswered and accused Moscow of trying to intimidate Europeans into weakening their support for Ukraine.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Definition of weaken

Verb

Detectives drained three dams, searched six mineshafts and sent up drones with specialized cameras to take detailed imagery, later analyzed with artificial intelligence.

— Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 20 Sep. 2026
The book leans on research about decision fatigue—the idea that even trivial choices drain the mental capacity available for harder ones—to argue that the sheer volume of daily inputs, not just their content, has a cost.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026

Definition of drain

Verb

In the Rocky Mountains, years of extreme heat and drought have baked the landscape, drying up streams that feed the Colorado River and desiccating pastures where cattle graze.

— Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Strewn around the edges of the room are ceramic casts of the pocked fruit, brown and desiccated like a pile of skulls.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of desiccate

Verb

The wars in Ukraine and the Middle East have become grinding contests over which side can exhaust the other’s military capacity, economic resources, and political will.

— NADIA SCHADLOW, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2026
This change responds to the numerous college athlete-plaintiffs who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility, but who seek to continue playing or return to competition.

— Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of exhaust

Verb

Alcohol Alcohol is one of the least effective choices when you’re dehydrated.

— Sarah Jividen, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026
When asked why the information about Moore being dehydrated wasn't relayed to the media following the game, Lanning turned defensive.

— Mark Harris OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Definition of dehydrate

Verb

The impact of that shocking final scene is sufficient to send viewers out feeling enervated after what’s been a pretty desultory final act.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 24 May 2026
Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting.

— Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026

Definition of enervate

Verb

This is the league, remember, where a man (Harvey Updyke) confessed to poisoning the trees at Auburn on a radio show after Alabama lost to the Tigers, and a coach (Jackie Sherrill at Mississippi State) castrated a bull to motivate his squad.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2026
Those expectations got castrated because of last season’s early struggles.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026

Definition of castrate

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petrifies

petrify

petrifying

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“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of petrify

verb

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