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Glite Dictionary
😱 Very scared 🪨 Turned to stone 🪨 To turn to stone
to petrified

to petrified

7.3
To turn into stone over a long time
  • verb
  • /ˈpɛtrɪˌfaɪd/
translation icon : petrificar
  • The ancient tree was petrified over thousands of years, turning into a beautiful stone that looks like wood.

I would say in the past it would have been petrified.

Examples

  • Scientists study fossils to understand how organic materials can become petrified through natural processes.

  • After decades buried in volcanic ash, the remains of the forest were completely petrified and preserved in time.

  • Swimming less until they're petrified and still thinking there is no hope.

Synonyms

to turn to stone
vsto petrified
  • Literature
10 7.7

Become completely still and look like stone when frightened

changes slowly by natural processes over a long time into a stony substance

Compounds

Petrified Forest National Park
5.2

A national park in northeastern Arizona with many colorful tree logs turned to stone

How Fossilized

to petrified
7.3
unaltered
5 3.7

Surface Forms

petrify infinitive
petrified past
petrified past participle
petrifying present participle
petrifies third person singular

Morphology

petrified = petrify (transparent) = petrify + ed

This is the regular past/past-participial form of 'petrify' describing the literal process of becoming stone, so the derivation is straightforward.

Etymology

The verb petrified comes from the old Greek root petra meaning 'rock' or 'stone', the same root as the name Peter, which means 'rock'. To petrify something is to 'turn it into stone' over time.