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
“When a storm was on I thought the whole roof was going to lift off, like in The Wizard of Oz. Used to petrify me.”
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
"They're being sold as generic medications, and that petrifies me."
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
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
The mere sight of him petrifies me with terror.
From The Eleven Comedies, Volume 2 by Aristophanes
He said residents were petrified as well as angry.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
“I kinda sorta put my acting career on hold the other day. It’s been something I’ve been petrified to do for years,” Krumholtz said in a post on Threads, per Deadline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
But executives are petrified of reducing dividends because it suggests distress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Hutchison said she was "petrified" before the man - wearing just shorts - left after about a minute of arguing over who was actually in the wrong room.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The neighbor’s cat is climbing awkwardly on a high branch, its claws gripping the wood as if it’s petrified.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
The reason I’m so fascinated with a subject I find petrifying is that math has become proof of how AI can warp an entire field—and how fast it can happen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
McFadden has remained inside her Dubai hotel since the weekend and described the situation as "petrifying".
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
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
Holley gifts his readers with a uniquely intimate history of Black liberation that clearly demonstrates the error in petrifying these figures.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2023
It’s a cry that travels far and wide, and is absolutely petrifying when heard close up.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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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