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Definition of petrify - 4 dictionary results

pet⋅ri⋅fy

  [pe-truh-fahy] verb, -fied, -fy⋅ing.
Use petrify in a Sentence
–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.
Origin:
1585–95; < MF petrifier. See petri-, -fy

Related forms:
pet⋅ri⋅fi⋅a⋅ble, adjective
pe⋅trif⋅i⋅cant  [pi-trif-i-kuhnt] , adjective
pet⋅ri⋅fi⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
2. immobilize, dumbfound, daze.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To petrify
pet·ri·fy   (pět'rə-fī')   
v.   pet·ri·fied, pet·ri·fy·ing, pet·ri·fies

v.   tr.

  1. To convert (wood or other organic matter) into a stony replica by petrifaction.

  2. To cause to become stiff or stonelike; deaden.

  3. To stun or paralyze with terror; daze.

v.   intr.
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.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: pet·ri·fy
Pronunciation: 'pe-tr&-"fI
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -fied; -fy·ing
transitivesenses
: to convert (organic matter) into stone or a stony substance petrify intransitive senses
: to become stone or like stone
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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