as in undermining
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrifying
Verb
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Introducing such evidence can provoke sympathy for the defendant and distrust towards the prosecuting attorney, potentially undermining the case.
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The following evening, three legislators complained to me that several of these groups were actively undermining one another.
Verb
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And more than a decade into the LHC era, neither frontier has come close to exhausting its potential.
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That matters because unloading mixed freight can be exhausting work.
Verb
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The floor sink beneath the 3-comp sink was draining slowly and observed unclean.
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Their variety of runs and rotations are hard for any side to defend against, with the Spaniards slowly draining your physical and mental energy across the course of 90 minutes (or more).
Verb
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Goldman Sachs predicts a sustained dollar weakening in 2026, driven by fiscal concerns and shifting global asset demand, marking a structural shift rather than a cyclical dip.
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Ukrainian officials describe the strikes as a campaign to pressure Moscow to end the war by undermining its military logistics and supply lines and weakening its ability to mount assaults along the front.
Verb
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Campbell, the North Carolina folk singer, describes an enervating process marked by back-and-forth exchanges and lots of waiting.
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Jenny deflected me with enervating ease.
Verb
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He was last seen wearing a light green shirt, camouflage shorts and white socks.
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Murdaugh’s team initially asked that he be allowed to come to all court appearances, including pretrial hearings, wearing civilian clothes and unshackled.
Verb
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Sam Lambert laid down a safety squeeze, deadening the ball in front of the plate and scoring Balls to trim the lead to 3-1.
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Another suggestion was requiring special sound-deadening balls, currently available, that lower the decibel levels considerably.
Verb
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Another advantage of long and narrow leaves is their ability to withstand heavy rainfall and battering or desiccating winds.
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Cite this Entry
“Petrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrifying. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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