What is the meaning of petrify?

verb

  • Cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned.
    • usage: "The horror petrified his feelings"; "Fear petrified her thinking"
  • Change into stone.
    • usage: "the wood petrified with time"
  • Make rigid and set into a conventional pattern.
    • usage: "rigidify the training schedule"; "ossified teaching methods"; "slogans petrify our thinking"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). petrify. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/petrify/definitions/1301468
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "petrify" http://smartdefine.org/petrify/definitions/1301468 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, petrify, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/petrify/definitions/1301468>.
MLAWordNet. "petrify" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/petrify/definitions/1301468>
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