as in to undermine
to deprive of emotional or intellectual vitality
groupthink and peer pressure have so petrified the thinking of the company's top brass that they haven't produced an innovative product in years
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Recent Examples of petrify
The body was supposedly petrified by sap, and the loggers found several gold coins dating to the late 1600s, as well as pieces of paper identifying the person as Pierre D’Artagnan.
—
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
But Ingrid is petrified of dying and tries to convince Martha there is still plenty worth living for.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024
Some three-dimensional metallic roses grew on their shiny reflective surfaces, with an important symbolism that served as a fit rouge for the entire collection: as fragile objects suddenly petrified, their hardened fragility was the designer’s own.
—Giorgia Feroldi, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2025
He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
But Ingrid is petrified of dying and tries to convince Martha there is still plenty worth living for.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024
Some three-dimensional metallic roses grew on their shiny reflective surfaces, with an important symbolism that served as a fit rouge for the entire collection: as fragile objects suddenly petrified, their hardened fragility was the designer’s own.
—Giorgia Feroldi, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2025
He was petrified by the thought of dying of cancer or some other disease whose senselessness disgusted him.
—Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
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The firing of a career public servant, lawfully appointed by the court, is another blatant attempt to intimidate anyone that doesn't agree with them and undermine judicial independence.—
Matthew Robinson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 July 2025
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Avoid Common Mistakes Despite the benefits of catch-up contributions, many individuals make avoidable errors that undermine their effectiveness.—
True Tamplin,
Forbes.com,
23 July 2025
Verb
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This weakens their ability to educate, create, and grow.—
Miguel Cardona,
Time,
21 July 2025
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This could help verify recent findings from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) that suggest this strange force is actually weakening over time.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
20 July 2025
Verb
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Several of Yazan’s four older siblings also looked thin and drained.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Chicago Tribune,
25 July 2025
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The answer is to stop dating men who drain your brilliance, and to start dating as the woman who chooses herself first.—
Ximena Araya-Fischel,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Verb
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In a world that has been desiccated of its resources, and of its ability to care about each other, the people in this novel don’t cry anymore.—
Emily Temple
May 27,
Literary Hub,
27 May 2025
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Avoid hot, exposed sites which will cause foliage to desiccate.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
16 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Ferrell, who contended that their father wanted to be cremated, ultimately agreed to a settlement, reportedly after exhausting nearly $100,000 in legal fees and running out of funds to continue the fight.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
23 July 2025
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The goal is to exhaust the activist organization’s resources and force them to shut down.—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
22 July 2025
Verb
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More than anything, Earth is being slowly dehydrated by the unmitigated mining of groundwater, which underlies vast proportions of every continent.—
Abrahm Lustgarten,
ProPublica,
25 July 2025
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What excessive heat can do Engines overheat, people dehydrate and tires blow when asphalt gets hot.—
Josh Max,
Forbes.com,
25 July 2025
Verb
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This relationship, when successful, tends to enervate mediating institutions that thwart the immediate desires of both the populist leader and the public.—
Cameron Hilditch,
National Review,
28 Feb. 2021
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The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.—
Teo Bugbee,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2020
Verb
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The opera premiered in Rome at a time when castrati, or castrated male singers, took on treble roles; a papal decree forbade women from performing onstage.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
28 June 2025
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Tasks included repairing barbed wire fences, castrating animals and laying irrigation pipes, the suit alleges.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
12 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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