petrifies

verb

present tense third-person singular of petrify
as in undermines
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 petrifies Here, a source of primordial terror—the gaze that petrifies—is deflected by way of the highly polished shield that Perseus wields against the creature. — Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026 The former slingshots between harmony and hysteria; the latter petrifies its beauty under a haze of ashy gray powder. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 28 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrifies
  1. undermines
  2. weakens
  3. drains
  4. exhausts
  5. wears
  6. dehydrates
  7. castrates
  8. deadens
Verb
  • Trade secret law is more promising for methodology kept genuinely confidential, though the publicity of the legal system undermines most such claims.
    — Hamid Kohan, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • But our current electronic monitoring system undermines those goals when it is used as a substitute for detention of dangerous defendants.
    — Eileen Burke, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of undermines
Verb
  • The use of noble language to describe a process that weakens constitutional guardrails only widens the disconnect between words and actions.
    — Yuripzy Morgan, Baltimore Sun, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The erosion of those countries’ industrial capacity ultimately weakens their ability to compete with and resist China economically, diplomatically, and militarily.
    — Bill Cassidy, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of weakens
Verb
  • Defensiveness extends conversations, weakens credibility and drains emotional energy that could have been directed toward solving problems.
    — Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Every square inch of land on Earth’s surface receives precipitation, and much of it drains out, eventually, to an ocean or lake.
    — Natalie Wolchover, Quanta Magazine, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of drains
Verb
  • If a bureaucratic process exhausts whatever time a citizen has available, then benefits are lost or rights are denied.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
  • That’s because even ordinary winds – and far worse, storms and earthquakes – cause tall buildings to sway, which ruins people’s concentration, wrecks their mood, and even exhausts them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 July 2026
Definition of exhausts
Verb
  • The juror sitting closest to the Shakur family wears a dark suit and tie to court every day.
    — Andy Rose, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Three weeks of racing before Tadej Pogačar wears the red jersey on the final podium in Granada.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of wears
Verb
  • This fine white powder is an abrasive substance that cuts the exoskeleton of spiders, ants, fleas, and other bugs, which dehydrates and kills them over time.
    — Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 19 Aug. 2026
  • Despite the belief that coffee dehydrates you, experts say moderate coffee consumption can contribute to your daily water intake.
    — Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 20 July 2026
Definition of dehydrates
Verb
  • By way of example, Morris points to a scene in Wiseman's 1993 documentary Zoo, in which an all-women surgical team at Miami zoo castrates a wolf.
    — Chloe Veltman, NPR, 16 Feb. 2026
Definition of castrates
Verb
  • Oppressively hot, lie-down-and-take-a-nap hot, hydration-break hot, the kind of hot that deadens feet.
    — Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 10 July 2026
Definition of deadens

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Cite this Entry

“Petrifies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrifies. Accessed 25 Aug. 2026.

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