PETRIFY


Meaning of PETRIFY in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈpe-trə-ˌfī ]

verb

( -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 Review

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

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.