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rooted

5.5

Unable to move because of shock, fear, or surprise

adjective
/ˈruːtɪd/

: paralizado

I just couldn't open my mouth because I was like rooted to the spot in shock and like in a realisation.

Examples

After hearing the sudden loud noise, she felt rooted, unable to move or react.
The unexpected announcement left him feeling deeply rooted in surprise.
She remains as rooted as a tree.

Fiction book (1995)
She might hold her breath long enough to become inanimate, pale, and rooted, and may very well never think about the not-seen, not-heard, not-smelled bear again.

Fiction book (1996)
He was rooted to the spot as he processed the shocking news.

Synonyms

immobile

vsrooted

14 4.4

Not able to move or be moved, like a statue

is inability to move caused by shock, fear, or sudden surprise rather than physical limits

stock-still

vsrooted

2 6.2

Not moving at all

is being fixed in place because of shock, fear, or surprise

frozen

vsrooted

1 2.8

Unable to move because of fear or shock

is inability to move as if fixed by shock, fear, or surprise

plantlike

vsrooted

5.0

Standing very still as if rooted in place

is the same stuck feeling but caused by shock or sudden fear

Antonyms

mobile

81 2.7

Able to change or move easily

unfixed

6.1

Not firmly attached and able to move or fall

Compounds

deep-rooted papism

9.9

A strong long-held belief in the Pope's authority

deep-rooted tradition

4.1

A custom people have followed for a long time that is hard to change

deep-rooted value

4.7

A belief that people hold for a long time and find hard to change

fibrous-rooted begonia

8.0

A plant with many thin, thread-like roots that makes begonia flowers

turnip-rooted celery

8.4

A vegetable like celery with a large round root eaten cooked or raw

turnip-rooted parsley

8.9

A white root vegetable with smooth leaves that looks like a parsnip

How Immobilized

paralyzed

1 4.2

frozen

1 2.8

petrified

29 4.6

rooted

5.5

stunned

29 3.0

to still

12 4.2

startled

3.3

Surface Forms

rooted positive

rooter comparative

rootest superlative

Morphology

rooted = root (opaque) = root + ed

The meaning shift from 'root' as a plant part to a metaphorical sense of being fixed in place is not transparent.

Etymology

Rooted comes from the idea of a plant's root, which keeps it 'fixed in place', so a person 'rooted' by shock or fear is like a tree that cannot move. That's why rooted can mean unable to move from surprise or fright.