petrify meaning and definition

PETRIFY verb

Definition of petrify (verb)

1. cause to become stonelike or stiff or dazed and stunned
   • "The horror petrified his feelings"; "Fear petrified her thinking"
2. change into stone
   • "the wood petrified with time"
   • synonyms: lapidify
3. make rigid and set into a conventional pattern
   • "rigidify the training schedule"; "ossified teaching methods"; "slogans petrify our thinking"
   • synonyms: ossify, rigidify