[pet.ri.fy] vb -fied ; -fy.ing [MF petrifier, fr. petr- + -ifier -ify] vt (1594) 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 ~ a man's thinking --Saturday Rev." b: to confound with fear, amazement, or awe "a novel about an airline pilot that will ~ you --Martin Levin" ~ vi: to become stone or of stony hardness or rigidity