ossified

American  

[os-uh-fahyd] / ˈɒs əˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. hardened like or into bone.

2. Slang. drunk.

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ossified British  

/ ˈɒsɪˌfaɪd /

adjective

1. converted into bone

2. having become set and inflexible

3. slang intoxicated; drunk

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Other Word Forms

• unossified adjective

Etymology

Origin of ossified

First recorded in 1790–1800; ossify + -ed ²

Explanation

Use the adjective ossified to describe someone who's become stuck in his ways. You might feel that your uncle has become an ossified suburban soccer dad, set in his unbending view of the world and comfortable lifestyle. When your habits or views have solidified into inflexible patterns — especially if those views are conservative — you can describe yourself as ossified. It's not a compliment to call someone ossified, since it implies an inability to change or bend or even to consider another person's viewpoint. The root is ossify, "to turn into bone," from the Latin word for "bone," os.

Example Sentences

Like every other detail here, that implicit complaint is dusty and ossified, and Mr. Williamson’s formerly wised-up dialogue has been supplanted by a grinding earnestness, with everyone constantly asking about one another’s feelings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026

The proposed cleanup and redevelopment of this ossified power plant joins a growing collection of such projects across the nation.

From New York Times • Oct. 17, 2023

Nor can you, apparently, be a successful, divorced, outspoken biracial American career woman and thrive among the hierarchically ossified, stiff-upper-lip royal family.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 2, 2023

There are the ossified standbys—YouTube, TikTok, Instagram—platforms that are lucky enough to be piloted by someone who does not possess Musk’s deeply unserious, mean-spirited disposition.

From Slate • Jul. 27, 2023

All past oligarchies have fallen from power either because they ossified or because they grew soft.

From "1984" by George Orwell