ossified

[ os-uh-fahyd ]

/ ˈɒs əˌfaɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ossified ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

hardened like or into bone.

Slang. drunk.

Nearby words

ossietzky, ossietzky, carl von, ossiferous, ossific, ossification, ossified, ossifrage, ossify, ossining, osso bucco, ossobuco

Origin of ossified

First recorded in 1790–1800; ossify + -ed²

Related formsun·os·si·fied, adjective

Definition for ossified (2 of 2)

ossify

[ os-uh-fahy ]

/ ˈɒs əˌfaɪ /

verb (used with object), os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing.

to convert into or cause to harden like bone.

verb (used without object), os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing.

to become bone or harden like bone.

to become rigid or inflexible in habits, attitudes, opinions, etc.: a young man who began to ossify right after college.

Origin of ossify

1705–15; < Latin ossi- (stem of os) bone + -fy

Related formsos·si·fi·er, nounun·os·si·fy·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ossified

Who would you think more likely to reform an ossified economic system?
Kim Jong Un & The Myth of the Reformer Dictator|Michael Moynihan|December 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Although it makes no sense, this simplistic line has been repeated ad nauseam until it has ossified into accepted fact.
Rx for Obamacare: Take a Chill Pill|Joe McLean|December 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
She only wrote two novels, but they establish her as the chronicler of an ossified generation unable to move forward in life.
Renata Adler, Poet of a Chaotic Generation|Jen Vafidis|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Between the vertebral and sternal portions an intermediate tract is separated off and ossified in the Monotremata.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

The rows are much shortened but not disorganized and an ossified band extends across the junction.
Scurvy Past and Present|Alfred Fabian Hess
They are, however, ossified in the Armadillos and in some other animals.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
The rami of the mandible are united at the symphysis, and there is an ossified ring in the sclerotic.
The Vertebrate Skeleton|Sidney H. Reynolds
And the worst of it was, I couldn't tell him just the particular kind of ossified old pinhead I thought he was.
The House of Torchy|Sewell Ford

British Dictionary definitions for ossified (1 of 2)

ossified

/ (ˈɒsɪˌfaɪd) /

adjective

converted into bone

having become set and inflexible

Irish slang intoxicated; drunk

British Dictionary definitions for ossified (2 of 2)

ossify

/ (ˈɒsɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

to convert or be converted into bone

(intr) (of habits, attitudes, etc) to become inflexible

Derived Formsossifier, noun

Word Origin for ossify

C18: from French ossifier, from Latin os bone + facere to make

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

ossified

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of ossified

Definition for ossified (2 of 2)

ossify

verb (used with object), os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing.

verb (used without object), os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing.

Origin of ossify

Examples from the Web for ossified

British Dictionary definitions for ossified (1 of 2)

ossified

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for ossified (2 of 2)

ossify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied

Word Origin for ossify

Medicine definitions for ossified

ossify

v.