calcify

verb

cal·​ci·​fy ˈkal-sə-ˌfī 

calcified; calcifying

transitive verb

1

: to make calcareous by deposit of calcium salts

2

: to make inflexible or unchangeable

intransitive verb

1

: to become calcareous

2

: to become inflexible and changeless : harden

calcification

ˌkal-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

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What is the difference between ossify and calcify?

Medically speaking, ossify refers to the process by which bone forms, or by which tissue (usually cartilage) changes into bone. Ossification is a natural process that starts in utero and which comprises several different steps—one of which is the deposit of calcium salts, also known as calcification. Calcify, however, only refers to the deposit of calcium salts in soft tissue and is not synonymous with ossify. Ossification creates bone tissue, which is more than simply a deposit of calcium salts.

Both ossify and calcify have gained more general uses as well. Calcify refers to hardening, to becoming inflexible and unable to change:

What were once upstart revisionist currents calcified into self-regarding academic sub-specialties, sponsoring plenty of analysis but little fundamental debate.
— Sean Wilentz, The New Republic, 2 July 2001

Ossify refers to becoming inflexible, conventional, and resistant to change:

For these writers, the ossified ideologies of the world, imbedded in the communal imagination, block vision, and as artists they respond not by criticism from without but by confrontation from within.
—Robert Coover, The New York Times Book Review, 18 Mar. 1984

While ossify generally has a slightly more disparaging connotation to it than calcify does in general uses, our evidence shows that the two words are beginning to merge semantically.

Examples of calcify in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Diving Deep into the Mouth's Microbial Dark Matter The Causes of Tonsil Stones Tonsil stones form when your tonsils, which are part of your body’s lymphatic system, trap debris in their crevices, which then calcifies. —Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024

The nation’s political divides might just be too old, and too calcified, to keep pace—which, for once, might be to the benefit of the American people. —Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 31 Oct. 2024

Things that are stylish and clever the first time are calcified by the fourth episode. —Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Oct. 2024

As the Internet and the companies that control it have become an object of permanent public concern, the concerns themselves have calcified into clichés. —Ben Tarnoff, The New Yorker, 5 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1836, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Kids Definition

calcify

verb

cal·​ci·​fy ˈkal-sə-ˌfī 

calcified; calcifying

: to make or become stony by deposit of calcium salts

calcification

ˌkal-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 

noun

Medical Definition

calcify

verb

cal·​ci·​fy ˈkal-sə-ˌfī 

calcified; calcifying

transitive verb

: to make calcareous by deposit of calcium salts

intransitive verb

: to become calcareous