mummify

[ muhm-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈmʌm əˌfaɪ /

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See synonyms for: mummify / mummified on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), mum·mi·fied, mum·mi·fy·ing.

to make (a dead body) into a mummy, as by embalming and drying.

to make (something) resemble a mummy; dry or shrivel up: The dead lizard was mummified by the hot desert air.

to preserve (an idea, institution, custom, etc.) that may have outlived its usefulness or relevance: Those mummified customs have no place in society today.

verb (used without object), mum·mi·fied, mum·mi·fy·ing.

to dry or shrivel up.

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Origin of mummify

First recorded in 1620–30; mummy¹ + -fy

OTHER WORDS FROM mummify

mum·mi·fi·ca·tion, nounhalf-mum·mi·fied, adjectiveun·mum·mi·fied, adjectiveun·mum·mi·fy·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mummify in a sentence

Ancient Egyptians didn’t just mummify people, they also preserved many animals.
See what these animal mummies are keeping under wraps|Helen Thompson|October 6, 2020|Science News For Students
“These dolls are made of mummified human remains,” the voiceover on the video says.
Russian Historian Anatoly Moskvin Collected Dead Girls at Home|Anna Nemtsova|November 28, 2011|DAILY BEAST
What troubles me in the first instance is that the rest of us become mummified by their arguments.
Wanted: Humanitarians at Home|Leslie H. Gelb|April 6, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The grisly discovery of her mummified body has unsettled the neighborhood, the neighbor added.
The Mummy Rode Shotgun|Christine Pelisek|October 31, 2010|DAILY BEAST

But other than that, she looked exactly the same—the hot climate and humidity had mummified her.
Who Is the Haircut Killer?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|July 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST
The partially mummified body was only discovered when, in 1993, 56-year-old Dorian sadly succumbed to AIDS.
Why Drag Queens Should Handle Disaster Relief|Simon Doonan|June 4, 2010|DAILY BEAST
A few feet from the tank a mummified body lay sprawled out, mouth open.
Second Variety|Philip Kindred Dick
I descended its vault in order to examine some two dozen of mummified monks, some of them four centuries old.
History of Embalming|J. N. Gannal
A mummified duck, estimated to be two thousand years old, has been discovered in a sandstone stratum in Iowa.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, Dec. 26, 1917|Various
Pits full of mummified animals are also found among the human graves.
A history of art in ancient Egypt, Vol. I (of 2)|Georges Perrot
Of this fact the burial ground of Huacho, and the mummified animals seen on the level heights, furnish the most convincing proofs.
Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests|J. J. von Tschudi

British Dictionary definitions for mummify

mummify

/ (ˈmʌmɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

(tr) to preserve the body of (a human or animal) as a mummy

(intr) to dry up; shrivel

(tr) to preserve (an outdated idea, institution, etc) while making lifeless

Derived forms of mummify

mummification, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mummify

Origin of mummify

OTHER WORDS FROM mummify

Words related to mummify

How to use mummify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mummify

Derived forms of mummify