petrify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to convert into stone or a stony substance.
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to benumb or paralyze with astonishment, horror, or other strong emotion.
I was petrified with fear.
- Synonyms:
- daze, dumbfound, immobilize
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to make rigid or inert; harden; deaden.
The tragedy in his life petrified his emotions.
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr; often passive) to convert (organic material, esp plant material) into a fossilized form by impregnation with dissolved minerals so that the original appearance is preserved
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to make or become dull, unresponsive, insensitive, etc; deaden
-
(tr; often passive) to stun or daze with horror, fear, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
petrifysimple
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petrifiessimple
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have petrifiedperfect
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has petrifiedperfect
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am petrifyingprogressive
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are petrifyingprogressive
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is petrifyingprogressive
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have been petrifyingperfect progressive
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has been petrifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
petrifiedsimple
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had petrifiedperfect
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was petrifyingprogressive
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were petrifyingprogressive
-
had been petrifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of petrify
From the Middle French word petrifier, dating back to 1585–95. See petri-, -fy
Explanation
If you scare someone so much they can't move, you petrify them. Petrify is to make something like a stone or to literally turn to stone. At the heart of the word petrify is the Latin word petra which means "stone." In the scientific sense, wood petrifies in an environment without oxygen, say when it is buried by lava, and minerals such as silica enter the wood and fill the cells, making it hard as stone. More commonly, something petrifies a person or an animal when it scares them very much. During thunderstorms, the dog is so petrified that it hides under the bed. If you are in a store when it is being robbed, you might be petrified too.
Vocabulary lists containing petrify
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Nosferatu” is more retelling than remake, like a myth that takes on new, sickly detail to petrify the curious as it’s passed down through the years.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
But the department’s letter was sent days ago without public comment, and its reported warning that the lottery may be illegal isn’t likely to petrify scofflaws such as Musk and Trump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
“But you’ve just got to stay ready whenever your opportunities come. They just come and go, so you’ve just got to stay ready for it you. Can’t really petrify yourself for the time being.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
This should petrify his colleagues — and the rest of the country, too.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2023
“Same as your minotaur horn. But don’t unwrap the head. It can still petrify you.”
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
One can imagine how the thought of going to jail petrifies him.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
It petrifies teachers who fear their students will use it instead of their brains for school papers.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
As the resin petrifies and turns into amber, it preserves whatever gets stuck inside of it—including insects, slime molds and even pint-sized dinosaurs—in a gold-tinted time capsule.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 12, 2023
Every time Clifton Collins Jr. boards a flight midproduction, the possibility of the aircraft crashing petrifies him.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021
In the north it kills slowly; it freezes, it petrifies by degrees.
From Strife and Peace by Howitt, Mary (Mary Botham)
He was petrified by how much had to go right for him to excel in high school, college and then decades of working.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
With “Rooster,” Lawrence, Tarses and Carell have created a more intimate dynamic centered on a father-daughter bond that has petrified a bit.
From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026
She added that K called Wixon "the witch" and was "petrified" of her.
From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026
"We ran downstairs to the basement... from the 10th floor... we were petrified," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
A cluster of red sparks hissed through the swinging kitchen door, kissed the ceiling, and rained a shimmering shower down and around the petrified hostess.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
“This was the most petrifying part, not being able to be there to shield your kids and know if they were safe,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
The self-infantilizing is disconcerting to watch, and no doubt petrifying to experience firsthand, but Gaga dodges the fan and gets into her waiting vehicle.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2025
A couple whose baby suffered seizures and damage to his brain during labour have described their time in Edinburgh's maternity unit as "petrifying".
From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2025
Holley gifts his readers with a uniquely intimate history of Black liberation that clearly demonstrates the error in petrifying these figures.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2023
Worse still, it isn’t actually necessary to look to space for petrifying danger.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
