petrify

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pet·ri·fy

(pĕt′rə-fī′)

tr.v. pet·ri·fied, pet·ri·fy·ing, pet·ri·fies

1. To convert (wood or other organic matter) into a stony replica by petrifaction.

2. To cause to lose vitality or become impervious to change; deaden: a routine that petrified her thinking.

3. To stun or paralyze with terror; daze.

[Middle English petrifien, to harden, from Old French petrifier : Latin petra, rock (from Greek petrā; see per- in Indo-European roots) + Old French -fier, -fy.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

petrify

(ˈpɛtrɪˌfaɪ)

vb, -fies, -fying or -fied

1. (Geological Science) (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

2. to make or become dull, unresponsive, insensitive, etc; deaden

3. (tr; often passive) to stun or daze with horror, fear, etc

[C16: from French pétrifier, ultimately from Greek petra stone, rock]

ˈpetriˌfier n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pet•ri•fy

(ˈpɛ trəˌfaɪ)

v. -fied, -fy•ing. v.t.

1. to convert into stone or a stony substance.

2. to benumb with strong emotion, as fear.

3. to harden; deaden: The tragedy petrified his emotions.

v.i.

4. to become petrified.

[1585–95; < Middle French petrifier. See petri-, -ify]

pet′ri•fi`a•ble, adj.

pe•trif•i•cant (pɪˈtrɪf ɪ kənt) adj.

pet′ri•fi`er, n.

petrify

Past participle: petrified
Gerund: petrifying

Imperative
petrify
petrify

Present
I petrify
you petrify
he/she/it petrifies
we petrify
you petrify
they petrify

Preterite
I petrified
you petrified
he/she/it petrified
we petrified
you petrified
they petrified

Present Continuous
I am petrifying
you are petrifying
he/she/it is petrifying
we are petrifying
you are petrifying
they are petrifying

Present Perfect
I have petrified
you have petrified
he/she/it has petrified
we have petrified
you have petrified
they have petrified

Past Continuous
I was petrifying
you were petrifying
he/she/it was petrifying
we were petrifying
you were petrifying
they were petrifying

Past Perfect
I had petrified
you had petrified
he/she/it had petrified
we had petrified
you had petrified
they had petrified

Future
I will petrify
you will petrify
he/she/it will petrify
we will petrify
you will petrify
they will petrify

Future Perfect
I will have petrified
you will have petrified
he/she/it will have petrified
we will have petrified
you will have petrified
they will have petrified

Future Continuous
I will be petrifying
you will be petrifying
he/she/it will be petrifying
we will be petrifying
you will be petrifying
they will be petrifying

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been petrifying
you have been petrifying
he/she/it has been petrifying
we have been petrifying
you have been petrifying
they have been petrifying

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been petrifying
you will have been petrifying
he/she/it will have been petrifying
we will have been petrifying
you will have been petrifying
they will have been petrifying

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been petrifying
you had been petrifying
he/she/it had been petrifying
we had been petrifying
you had been petrifying
they had been petrifying

Conditional
I would petrify
you would petrify
he/she/it would petrify
we would petrify
you would petrify
they would petrify

Past Conditional
I would have petrified
you would have petrified
he/she/it would have petrified
we would have petrified
you would have petrified
they would have petrified

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Verb	1.	petrify - cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned; "The horror petrified his feelings"; "Fear petrified her thinking" blunt, deaden - make less lively, intense, or vigorous; impair in vigor, force, activity, or sensation; "Terror blunted her feelings"; "deaden a sound"
	2.	petrify - change into stone; "the wood petrified with time" lapidify fossilise, fossilize - convert to a fossil; "The little animals fossilized and are now embedded in the limestone"
	3.	petrify - make rigid and set into a conventional pattern; "rigidify the training schedule"; "ossified teaching methods"; "slogans petrify our thinking" ossify, rigidify stiffen - make stiff or stiffer; "Stiffen the cream by adding gelatine"

petrify

verb

1. terrify, horrify, amaze, astonish, stun, appal, paralyse, astound, confound, transfix, stupefy, immobilize, dumbfound His story petrified me.

2. fossilize, set, harden, solidify, ossify, turn to stone, calcify Bird and bat guano petrifies into a mineral called taranakite.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

petrify

verb

1. To make or become physically hard:

cake, concrete, congeal, dry, harden, indurate, set, solidify.

2. To render helpless, as by emotion:

benumb, numb, paralyze, stun, stupefy, wither.

Translations

يَصْعَق، يُذْهِل

nahánět strach

gøre stiv af rædselskræmme

erstarren erstarren lassen versteinern

μαρμαρώνω

petrificar

jähmettääjähmettyäkivettääkivettyäkovettaa

pétrifier

lama af skelfingu

pietrificare

kelti siaubąstulbinti

pārakmeņotiessastingt

gjøre skrekkslagen skremme vettet av

dehşete düşürmek

使人发呆吓呆

petrify

[ˈpetrɪfaɪ]

A. VT

1. (lit) → petrificar
to become petrified → petrificarse

2. (fig) → aterrorizar, horrorizar
we were petrified → nos quedamos aterrorizados or horrorizados
to be petrified with fear → estar muerto de miedo
she's petrified of losing → le aterroriza or horroriza perder

B. VI → petrificarse

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

petrify

[ˈpɛtrɪfaɪ] vt (= terrify) → terrifier, pétrifier

petrify

(lit) → versteinern

(= frighten) he really petrifies me → er jagt mir schreckliche Angst ein; a petrifying experience → ein schreckliches Erlebnis; to be petrified by something → sich panisch vor etw fürchten

vi → versteinern

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

petrify

[ˈpɛtrɪˌfaɪ]

1. vt (fig) → terrorizzare

2. vi (turn to stone) → pietrificarsi (frm) (stagnate) → sclerotizzarsi

petrify

(ˈpetrifai) verb

to make (someone) very frightened; to terrify. The thought of having to make a speech petrified him.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

And as the frantic wielders of these weapons snatched them from the stream of sparks and tore away into the streets, the same red hue was red in their frenzied eyes;--eyes which any unbrutalised beholder would have given twenty years of life, to petrify with a well-directed gun.

View in context

And the graybeard cursed, "Don't stand up where you are lying, petrify!" The next day, the people saw that the camel was petrified where it had been lying.

Evaluation of petrifaction legends in Turkey in terms of cultural heritage and tourism

In general, stem tissue takes less than 100 years to petrify. The organic matter needs to become petrified before it decomposes completely.