petrify

Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).

Synonyms: putrify, metrify

Antonyms: putrify, metrify

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Verb

1. {{lb|en|transitive}} To [[turn to]] [[stone]]: to harden [[organic]] matter by [[permeate|permeating]] with water and depositing dissolved [[mineral]]s.
2. To produce rigidity akin to stone.
3. To [[immobilize]] with [[fright]].
4. {{lb|en|intransitive}} To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits.
5. {{lb|en|intransitive|figurative}} To become stony, [[callous]], or [[obdurate]].
6. {{lb|en|transitive|figurative}} To make callous or obdurate; to stupefy; to paralyze; to transform; as by petrification.

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.