PETRIFIED Synonyms: 82 Similar and Opposite Words

petrified

verb

Definition of petrified

past tense of petrify

as in exhausted

to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality groupthink and peer pressure have so petrified the thinking of the company's top brass that they haven't produced an innovative product in years

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of petrified The first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 May 2026 Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026 In group chats and meetings, Republicans are privately petrified the Iran war could cost them the midterms. — Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 16 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrified

Verb

Thérèse Anyiya, a nurse working in Ituri’s capital Bunia, said she is exhausted by the work demands and poor working conditions.

— CHINEDU ASADU, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Ukraine’s Patriot supplies been exhausted, said The Guardian.

— Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of exhausted

Verb

Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also undermined Iraqi oil exports, though Abu Dhabi’s ADNOC has helped get some through the chokepoint.

— Dominic Dudley, semafor.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Constant record-setting ticket sales and TV viewership were undermined by growing resentment among everyone from athletes to fans over the players’ salaries; Clark’s rookie pay was just $76,000.

— Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of undermined

Verb

But as oil is drained from these reserves, the integrity of the caverns may be imperiled.

— Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 17 Aug. 2026
Free mosquitofish are also available through the Butte County Mosquito and Vector Control District for ponds, troughs and other standing water that cannot be drained.

— Jessie Baltaxe, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of drained

Verb

The ultimate effect of Fedorov appeal to everyone’s better angels, is that Zelensky is weakened, the questions of his electoral legitimacy amplified, and the call for an end to the war bolstered.

— Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026
Positions have hardened, trust has weakened and the room for quiet resolution has narrowed.

— Sean Pattwell, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of weakened

Verb

Sometimes that’s true if the person is severely dehydrated, but heat strokes can also cause excessive sweating.

— Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2026
Probiotics are generally recommended for sensitive, dry, dehydrated and mature skin, and can also work as a preventative ingredient for normal skin.

— Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of dehydrated

Verb

Strewn around the edges of the room are ceramic casts of the pocked fruit, brown and desiccated like a pile of skulls.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2026
Olive trees, desiccated from the Xylella fastidiosa bacterial epidemic, are consumed by fire and slump to the ground in a burnished black heap.

— Angelica Calabrese, Longreads, 7 July 2026

Definition of desiccated

Verb

Those expectations got castrated because of last season’s early struggles.

— Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
Earlier this month, on Monday, June 8, Municipal Court Judge Louis Sancinito found Lowe guilty of possessing the deer without a permit, interfering with a conservation officer attempting to confiscate the animal, and having Rudy illegally castrated.

— Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026

Definition of castrated

Verb

The singer wore a black hoodie and appeared to be half-covered with a blanket.

— Edward Segarra, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
While the bride wore a satin, strapless Danielle Frankel wedding gown for the ceremony, the voluminous, floor-length skirt obscured her shoes on her big day.

— Karla Rodriguez, Footwear News, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of wore

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“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 23 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of petrified

verb

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