petrify

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin petrificare, from petra (“rock”)

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA: /ˈpɛ.tɹəˌfaɪ/

Verb

petrified tree Kirstenbosch Cape Town

petrify (third-person singular simple present petrifies, present participle petrifying, simple past and past participle petrified)

1. To harden organic matter by permeating with water and depositing dissolved minerals.
2. To produce rigidness akin to stone.
3. To immobilize with fright.

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:frighten

Translations

to harden organic matter by depositing dissolved minerals

Catalan: petrificar (ca) Danish: forstene (da) Dutch: verstenen (nl) Finnish: kivettyä (fi) (intr), kivettää (fi) (tr)

French: pétrifier (fr) German: versteinern (de) Romanian: petrifica (ro) Swedish: förstena (sv)

to produce rigidness akin to stone

Catalan: petrificar (ca) Danish: forstene (da) Dutch: verstenen (nl) Finnish: kovettua (fi) (intr), kovettaa (fi) (tr) French: pétrifier (fr)

German: versteinern (de) Portuguese: petrificar (pt) Romanian: petrifica (ro) Swedish: förstena (sv)

to immobilize with fright

Catalan: petrificar (ca) Danish: forstene (da) Dutch: verstenen (nl), verstarren (nl) Finnish: jähmettyä (fi) (intr), jähmettää (fi) (tr)

French: pétrifier (fr) German: erstarren (de) Romanian: petrifica (ro), împietri (ro) Swedish: förstena (sv)

Related terms

• petrifaction