petrified

[ pe-truh-fahyd ]

adjective

1. having been numbed or paralyzed with astonishment, horror, or other strong emotion:

   The victim arrived at the shelter petrified and penniless, lacking the documents needed to apply for aid.

2. having been turned to stone or a stony substance:

   Among the fossils found here are petrified skeletons of dinosaurs dating back 65 million years.

3. having been made rigid or inert; hardened:

   The 20-year-old snack cake—still in its original packaging—is quite petrified; it makes a pleasant thunking sound when I knock it against the desk.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of petrify ( def ).

Other Words From

• half-pet·ri·fied adjective
• sem·i·pet·ri·fied adjective
• un·pet·ri·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of petrified¹

petrify ( def ) + -ed ²( def )

Example Sentences

One night in Monaco, Rachael says she woke up "petrified" to find Salah getting into her bed.

From BBC

"I know from conversations with people in government and in the intelligence services in Europe that they are petrified of the prospect of Trump coming back to office."

From Salon

It was one of the first times I’d covered an event on my own, and I was petrified, like a rabbit in the headlights standing in the scrum of reporters and flashing cameras.

From BBC

"As a 13-year-old, I didn't realise exactly what was going on. I was petrified of him, I was vulnerable at that age and naïve, and he knew it."

From BBC

She said she had heard of children starting secondary school petrified of knife crime and ending up carrying a knife themselves for protection.

From BBC