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.

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calcify British  

/ ˈkælsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to convert or be converted into lime

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

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Other Word Forms

• noncalcified adjective
• uncalcified adjective

Etymology

Origin of calcify

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

Example Sentences

It’s McKellen reveling in a great role: charmingly funny but also bittersweet in the film’s examination of how fading fame can calcify one’s soul.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

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

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

It’s to watch it harden and calcify in real time.

From Slate • May 21, 2025

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

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 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