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ossify

[ os-uh-fahy ]
/ ˈɒs əˌfaɪ /
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See synonyms for: ossify / ossified on Thesaurus.com

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.
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Origin of ossify

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

OTHER WORDS FROM ossify

os·si·fi·er, nounun·os·si·fy·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ossify in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ossify

ossify
/ (ˈɒsɪˌfaɪ) /

verb -fies, -fying or -fied
to convert or be converted into bone
(intr) (of habits, attitudes, etc) to become inflexible

Derived forms of ossify

ossifier, 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
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