fossilized
Americanadjective
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(of the remains of an organism) having organic substances replaced with mineral ones; converted into a fossil.
-
rigidly antiquated.
-
having become the lifeless or disused remains of something; being merely a trace of the past.
Other Word Forms
- nonfossilized adjective
- semi-fossilized adjective
- unfossilized adjective
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Are they fossilized Martian microbes that lived billions of years ago when the planet next door was a wetter, warmer world?
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
By examining the fossilized feathers, researchers identified a continuous line of black spots along the wing edges.
From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026
"Examining the growth rings preserved in the fossilized bones allowed us to reconstruct the animals' year-by-year growth histories."
From Science Daily • Mar. 5, 2026
However, the skull had fossilized with the mouth closed, hiding internal structures such as the brain case.
From Science Daily • Feb. 11, 2026
They were speckled with brown as if something alive had gotten caught and fossilized in the irises.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
