Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [pe-truh-fahy]
- /ˈpɛ trəˌfaɪ/
- /ˈpet.rə.faɪ/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [pe-truh-fahy]
- /ˈpɛ trəˌfaɪ/
Definitions of petrify word
- verb with object petrify to convert into stone or a stony substance. 1
- verb with object petrify to benumb or paralyze with astonishment, horror, or other strong emotion: I was petrified with fear. 1
- verb with object petrify to make rigid or inert; harden; deaden: The tragedy in his life petrified his emotions. 1
- verb without object petrify to become petrified. 1
- transitive verb petrify terrify 1
- transitive verb petrify turn to stone 1
Information block about the term
Origin of petrify
First appearance:
before 1585 One of the 35% oldest English words
From the Middle French word petrifier, dating back to 1585-95. See petri-, -fy
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Petrify
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
petrify popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 66% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
petrify usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for petrify
verb petrify
- anesthetize — to cause anesthesia in; give an anesthetic to
- anesthetized — to render physically insensible, as by an anesthetic.
- appal — If something appals you, it disgusts you because it seems so bad or unpleasant.
- appall — If something appalls you, it disgusts you because it seems so bad or unpleasant.
- befog — to surround with fog
Top questions with petrify
- how long does it take for wood to petrify?
- what does petrify mean?
- how does wood petrify?
- how to petrify wood?
- how long does it take to petrify wood?
- how long does it take wood to petrify?
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- who does the basilisk petrify?
- what is petrify mean?
- how to petrify wood quickly?
- how to petrify wood at home?
- how long does wood take to petrify?
- what is the meaning of petrify?
- what causes wood to petrify?
- how long does it take for wood to petrify naturally?
See also
Matching words
- Words starting with p
- Words starting with pe
- Words starting with pet
- Words starting with petr
- Words starting with petri
- Words starting with petrif
- Words starting with petrify