petrified

[ pe-truh-fahyd ]
See synonyms for petrified on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. 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.

  2. having been turned to stone or a stony substance:Among the fossils found here are petrified skeletons of dinosaurs dating back 65 million years.

  1. 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
  1. the simple past tense and past participle of petrify.

Origin of petrified

1

Other words from petrified

  • half-pet·ri·fied, adjective
  • sem·i·pet·ri·fied, adjective
  • un·pet·ri·fied, adjective

Words Nearby petrified

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use petrified in a sentence