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

Unlike the ossified networks, DePetro is free to churn out content whenever he wants, for an audience keen to follow the investigation through 90-second updates.

From Slate • Feb. 23, 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

Coasting on his prewar renown, he won elections to Congress and as governor of Massachusetts, but he did little but make new enemies and dismay old friends: “The resolve ossified to rigidity.”

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2022

Merely rational thought—forgive me for preaching, but I must, I must!—merely rational thought leaves the mind incurably crippled in a closed and ossified system, it can only extrapolate from the past.

From "Grendel" by John Gardner