v.
Pronunciation: ' pe-tr ə - ˌ f ī
Function: verb
Inflected Form: -fied ; -fy · ing
Etymology: Middle French petrifier, from petr- + -ifier -ify
Date: 1594
transitive verb
1 : to convert (organic matter) into stone or a substance of stony hardness by the infiltration of water and the deposition of dissolved mineral matter
2 : to make rigid or inert like stone: a : to make lifeless or inactive : DEADEN <slogans are apt to petrify a man's thinking ― Saturday Rev. > b : to confound with fear, amazement, or awe <a novel about an airline pilot that will petrify you ― Martin Levin>
intransitive verb : to become stone or of stony hardness or rigidity