petrify
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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“Nosferatu” is more retelling than remake, like a myth that takes on new, sickly detail to petrify the curious as it’s passed down through the years.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2024
But the department’s letter was sent days ago without public comment, and its reported warning that the lottery may be illegal isn’t likely to petrify scofflaws such as Musk and Trump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
“But you’ve just got to stay ready whenever your opportunities come. They just come and go, so you’ve just got to stay ready for it you. Can’t really petrify yourself for the time being.”
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
This should petrify his colleagues — and the rest of the country, too.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 23, 2023
He had thought basilisks were huge dragonlike monsters that could petrify you with their eyes.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
One can imagine how the thought of going to jail petrifies him.
From Salon ● May 10, 2024
It petrifies teachers who fear their students will use it instead of their brains for school papers.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2023
As the resin petrifies and turns into amber, it preserves whatever gets stuck inside of it—including insects, slime molds and even pint-sized dinosaurs—in a gold-tinted time capsule.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 12, 2023
Every time Clifton Collins Jr. boards a flight midproduction, the possibility of the aircraft crashing petrifies him.
From New York Times ● Dec. 31, 2021
At last, extinct each social feeling, fell And joyless inhumanity pervades And petrifies the heart.--
From A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 14 by Kerr, Robert
The 4,000-year-old stone circle is said to represent nine petrified ladies, while the King Stone is said to be the fossilised fiddler who played for them.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
“They were petrified before arriving,” she said, “but they still came and had an incredible time.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Tello told ProPublica she was petrified and particularly worried for her younger siblings.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2026
"We ran downstairs to the basement... from the 10th floor... we were petrified," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
At this point, Solomon was petrified but safe.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
“This was the most petrifying part, not being able to be there to shield your kids and know if they were safe,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
The self-infantilizing is disconcerting to watch, and no doubt petrifying to experience firsthand, but Gaga dodges the fan and gets into her waiting vehicle.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2025
"I didn't know what was going on. We didn't know whether he’d survived, it was so nerve wracking. It was the longest two hours of my life. It was awful; it was petrifying."
From BBC ● May 21, 2024
After proving that I would be a viable “Survivor” contestant, we went in search of the truly petrifying item on our list.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2023
It was an eardrum-piercing, bloodcurdling nightmare of a scream, petrifying enough to make even a Swanburne girl forget all her antipanicking skills.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
Vocabulary lists containing petrify
Tyrannosaurus Lex(icon)
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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