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- pronunciation:
- pe
tr
faI
- parts of speech:
- transitive verb, intransitive verb
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb), Word Parts
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| inflections: |
petrifies, petrifying, petrified |
| definition 1: |
to turn (organic matter) into stone.
Minerals left behind by water petrify wood by replacing the wood's cells when they die.
- similar words:
- calcify, deaden, fossilize, freeze, harden, numb, stiffen
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| definition 2: |
to make stiff, numb, or lifeless; deaden.
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| definition 3: |
to daze or paralyze, as with terror or astonishment.
The sudden scream in the night petrified all the campers.The news of the disaster petrified us.- similar words:
- astonish, astound, daze, frighten, immobilize, paralyze, stun, terrify
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| part of speech: |
intransitive verb |
| definition: |
to turn into stone; become petrified.
It takes many years for wood to petrify.- similar words:
- fossilize, harden, ossify, solidify
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adverb + (v.)petrify
rightly
(v.)petrify
+ noun
architecture, armor, biscuit, boredom, cameo, clam, dismemberment, group, imagery, incantation, interest, living, potassium, resin, silicate, substrate, term, vowel
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| derivations: |
petrifiable (adj.), petrified (adj.), petrifaction (n.), petrification (n.) |
The word petrify
contains the following parts:
petr, petro
Latin and Greek
root
that means rock, stone
  Example words:
- synonyms:
- lith, litho, -lite, -lithic
-fy, -ify, -efy
Latin
verb-forming suffix
that means make, cause to be, become
More about this word part:
The suffix group -fy
, -ify
, -efy
forms verbs from primarily Latin bases. When -ify
attaches to an English base, the base is an adjective ( uglify
, Frenchify
) or noun ( citify
, zombify) usually having one syllable or two syllables ending in |i|. Verbs ending in -fy
have corresponding noun forms ending in -ion: as a rule, -ify
becomes -ification ( verify
, verification); -efy
becomes -efaction ( putrefy
, putrefaction). See also fac, fic, fec, fact, fect.
Example words:
beautify, casefy, citify, clarify, dignify, diversify, Frenchify, justify, liquefy, magnify, pacify, petrify, purify, putrefy, qualify, quantify, ramify, satisfy, signify, solidify, speechify, stupefy, torrefy, uglify, verify, vilify, vivify
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