petrified
Americanadjective
-
having been numbed or paralyzed with astonishment, horror, or other strong emotion.
The victim arrived at the shelter petrified and penniless, lacking the documents needed to apply for aid.
-
having been turned to stone or a stony substance.
Among the fossils found here are petrified skeletons of dinosaurs dating back 65 million years.
-
having been made rigid or inert; hardened.
The 20-year-old snack cake—still in its original packaging—is quite petrified; it makes a pleasant thunking sound when I knock it against the desk.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of petrified
Explanation
If you've ever felt so terrified you couldn't move, you've been petrified. Someone who's petrified of public speaking will do anything they possibly can to avoid giving a speech. Petrified is from the French pétrifier, "change into stone," and the Latin root petra, "rock or crag." Its earliest definition was "converted into a stony substance," and this literal meaning describes certain rocky fossils that developed from softer organic matter, like wood. The figurative use, for a person who's so scared it seems like they're made of stone, is attributed from the 18th century.
Vocabulary lists containing petrified
Wonder
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Woodsong
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Elf Dog and Owl Head
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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.
Dramatizations of the several lives studied put figurative flesh on the petrified bodies of the volcano victims, and those who escaped such a fate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
“I don’t think I’d be doing my job right if I wasn’t petrified every time I put a film out.”
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
But despite McNeilly being in prison, she retained some rights to see her "petrified" children and make some decisions about their lives.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
"We ran downstairs to the basement... from the 10th floor... we were petrified," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
And that’s why small-town kids sometimes don’t know the truth about petrified wood.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
