Nearby Words
verb (used with object)
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.
verb (used without object)
4.
to become petrified.
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Petrify
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to expurgate (a written work) by removing or modifying passages considered vulgar or objectionable. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
Related forms
pet·ri·fi·a·ble, adjective
pet·ri·fi·er, noun
half-pet·ri·fied, adjective
sem·i·pet·ri·fied, adjective
EXPANDSynonyms
2. immobilize, dumbfound, daze.
2. immobilize, dumbfound, daze.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To petrify
Example Sentences
- Today it is a somewhat prettified test that can still petrify the contestants.
- Hungarian miners have uncovered a scientific oddity: an ancient swamp cypress forest that didn't petrify into stone.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
petrify
1594, from M.Fr. pétrifier "to make or become stone," from L. petra "rock" + -ficare, from facere "to make, do" (see factitious). Metaphoric sense of "paralyze with fear or shock" first recorded 1771.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
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