petrifying

verb

Definition of petrifyingnext
present participle of petrify
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
  1. undermining
  2. exhausting
  3. draining
  4. weakening
  5. enervating
  6. wearing
  7. deadening
  8. desiccating
Verb
  • Major European and other confederations accuse Infantino of deception, undermining integrity.
    — Simon Chadwick, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • But the coal terminal would take us in the wrong direction, undermining decades of advocacy and millions of dollars of state investment.
    — Veronica Eady, Mercury News, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of undermining
Verb
  • Senior technology executive and business coach Leah Farmer points out that burnout isn’t always caused by overwork, and that effort without agency can be exhausting too.
    — Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • After exhausting all options, including selling their car and moving in with a relative, Esma makes the painful decision to wed Zara for the dowry.
    — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of exhausting
Verb
  • Clear communication keeps collaboration useful without draining the spark.
    — Tarot.com, Chicago Tribune, 21 Aug. 2026
  • On longer tracks with more straights, such as Spa in Belgium or Silverstone in the United Kingdom, the experience behind the wheel has been more galling for drivers thanks to the batteries draining faster and being charged less.
    — Luke Smith, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of draining
Verb
  • Anderson said population and labor-force declines, along with the Bay Area’s high housing costs, are weakening both the supply of workers and demand for them in many traditional industries.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Rather than weakening the rule, the authors recommended strengthening it by passing the Roadless Area Conservation Act, which would turn the agency regulations into federal law.
    — Dan Peck, ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • 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
  • Jenny deflected me with enervating ease.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Definition of enervating
Verb
  • Police described the intruder as a 6-foot-tall skinny Black man between 30 and 40 years old, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.
    — Logan Hall, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • Crystal Kung-Minkoff is the first to show up, wearing the titular trousers.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of wearing
Verb
  • Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
  • 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.
    — Dave Montrose, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2026
Definition of deadening
Verb
  • Suddenly, pest populations are large enough to make a meaningful impact, and one too many afternoons of 100+ degree weather have begun desiccating leaves.
    — Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Improving safety in the field Key innovations for the new tissue include the ability to hold water at room temperature for months on end without desiccating or needing refridgeration.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026
Definition of desiccating
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.

Browse Nearby Words

petrify
petrifying
pets
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Cite this Entry

“Petrifying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrifying. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of petrifying for Spanish Speakers

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