calcify

American  

[kal-suh-fahy] / ˈkæl səˌfaɪ /

verb (used with or without object)

calcified, calcifying

1. Physiology. to make or become calcareous or bony; harden by the deposit of calcium salts.

2. Geology. to harden by deposition of calcium carbonate.

3. to make or become rigid or intransigent, as in a political position.

---

calcify British  

/ ˈkælsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to convert or be converted into lime

2. to harden or become hardened by impregnation with calcium salts

---

Other Word Forms

• noncalcified adjective
• uncalcified adjective

Etymology

Origin of calcify

First recorded in 1830–40; calci- + -fy

Example Sentences

But he said their stance "began to calcify into a sort of defensiveness".

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

McKellar: The show is also about how ideologies sort of calcify and end up alienating people, even though they have noble aspirations at the beginning.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2024

Unlike medaka, the zebrafish form a transient scar that doesn't calcify into rigid tissue.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2024

While her photographs are always premeditated and posed, their primary intent is to calcify a particular moment in time to ensure that she — and we — never forget it.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2024

With each month of silence that passed between them, she felt the silence itself calcify, and become a hard and hulking statue, impossible to defeat.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie