calcify

[ kal-suh-fahy ]

verb (used with or without object)

, cal·ci·fied, cal·ci·fy·ing.

1. Physiology. to make or become calcareous or bony; harden by the deposit of calcium salts.
2. Geology. to harden by deposition of calcium carbonate.
3. to make or become rigid or intransigent, as in a political position.

calcify

/ ˈkælsɪˌfaɪ /

verb

1. to convert or be converted into lime
2. to harden or become hardened by impregnation with calcium salts

Other Words From

• non·calci·fied adjective
• un·calci·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of calcify¹

First recorded in 1830–40; calci- + -fy

Example Sentences

“Suddenly words like manipulated and abuse of power were being used and shame started to calcify in the parts of me that had desired her — tremendous embarrassment — as I began to see my great love story through a very different lens,” the author wrote about looking back on their affair.

From Los Angeles Times

McKellar: The show is also about how ideologies sort of calcify and end up alienating people, even though they have noble aspirations at the beginning.

From Los Angeles Times

Unlike medaka, the zebrafish form a transient scar that doesn't calcify into rigid tissue.

From Science Daily

He saw concerts as “the frantic pursuit of a succession of daily events, momentary, ephemeral,” forcing performers to “calcify” their interpretations so they could be repeated over and over.

From Los Angeles Times

While her photographs are always premeditated and posed, their primary intent is to calcify a particular moment in time to ensure that she — and we — never forget it.

From New York Times