Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

petrified

American  
[pe-truh-fahyd] / ˈpɛ trəˌfaɪd /

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.

Other Word Forms

  • half-petrified adjective
  • semipetrified adjective
  • unpetrified adjective

Etymology

Origin of petrified

petrify ( def. ) + -ed 2 ( def. )

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.