[pe-truh-fahy] 
verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.| 1. | to convert into stone or a stony substance. |
| 2. | to benumb or paralyze with astonishment, horror, or other strong emotion: I was petrified with fear. |
| 3. | to make rigid or inert; harden; deaden: The tragedy in his life petrified his emotions. |
| 4. | to become petrified. |
| pet·ri·fy (pět'rə-fī') v. pet·ri·fied, pet·ri·fy·ing, pet·ri·fies v. tr.
To become stony, especially by petrifaction. [Middle English petrifien, to harden, from Old French petrifier : Latin petra, rock (from Greek petrā; see per-2 in Indo-European roots) + Old French -fier, -fy.] |
trəˌfaɪ