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to petrify
01
to make someone so frightened that they cannot move or speak
Transitive: to petrify sb
Grammatical Information
Action verb
Regular
Present tense
petrify
3rd person singular
petrifies
Past simple
petrified
Past participle
petrified
Examples
The sudden appearance of the ghostly figure in the dark forest petrified the hikers.
02
to change organic material into stone or a stone-like substance
Transitive: to petrify organic material
Examples
Over millennia, the tree trunk was petrified, preserving its details in rock form.
03
to make something immobile, inactive, or unable to function
Transitive: to petrify sth
Examples
Tradition can sometimes petrify a society, preventing it from embracing new ideas.
Lexical Tree
petrified
petrifying
petrify
petr
