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Glite Dictionary
🦴 Hardening by calcium 🧱 Becoming rigid
calcification

calcification

1 7.4
A state in which ideas or systems become rigid and stop changing
  • noun
  • /ˌkæl.sɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
  • Formal
: calcificación
  • PC's emphasis on victim groups is a calcification of the political sympathies of the sixties into a repressive orthodoxy.

Examples

  • Many experts warn that calcification of traditional values can stifle innovation and adaptability.

  • I think that lifetime moderators are partly what leads to calcification of the site.

    Blog text (7)

  • The calcification of outdated beliefs within the organization hindered any chance of progress.

  • The calcification of outdated practices in the workplace limits the potential for new ideas.

Synonyms

solidification
vscalcification
  • Specialized
1 6.8

The change when a liquid or soft thing becomes hard, usually by cooling

applies to metaphorical rigidity of ideas and institutions not physical change
ossification
vscalcification
  • Formal
1 9.5

Becoming fixed and hard to change in ideas or systems

refers to rigidity across ideas, institutions, and situations
fossilization
vscalcification
  • Formal
8.0

A slow change that makes ideas or systems become fixed and stop changing

emphasizes unchanging rigidity more than mere datedness

Antonyms

to change
∞ 1.0

To make something or someone different

flexibility
37 3.0

Ability to bend or change shape without breaking

adaptability
11 3.9

Being able to change and work well in new situations

How Rigid

ossification
  • Specialized
1 8.8
rigidity
7 7.0
calcification
  • Formal
1 7.4
openness
35 3.9

Surface Forms

calcification singular
calcifications plural

Morphology

calcification = calcify (semi-transparent) = calcify + ation

The formation is the same nominalization, but the sense is a metaphorical extension (hardening of ideas/institutions) rather than the literal medical process.

Etymology

Calcification comes from the same Latin root calx 'lime' or 'chalk', which gives the idea of 'turning hard'. A helpful way to remember this meaning is to imagine rules or ideas becoming stiff and 'like stone', so calcification describes a situation or system that will not change.