fossilized

adjective

fos·​sil·​ized ˈfä-sə-ˌlīzd 

1

: having been changed into a fossil : subjected to fossilization

fossilized wood

And in 1997 he found several thousand fossilized eggs from a giant sauropod, or plant-eating dinosaur, just 120 miles north. The find included the first-known fossilized dinosaur embryos, as bits of fossilized dino-skin.

—Eric Niiler

2

: old and unchanging or outmoded

fossilized notions

As the mountains get higher, the houses become tin-roof shacks, with yards full of fossilized appliances and ancient cars.

—Elizabeth Gilbert

: made firm, fixed, or rigid by the passage of time

I love the living language more than the fossilized variety with its hardened meanings and set-in-stone lexicon.

—Paul McFedries

I know when I took photos in the past I was looking either for particularly artistic shots or ones that might become fossilized memories adorning a mantel.

—Robert W. Lucky

Synonyms

• antiquated
• archaic
• dated
• démodé
• demoded
• kaput
• kaputt
• medieval
• mediaeval
• moribund
• mossy
• moth-eaten
• neolithic
• Noachian
• obsolete
• out-of-date
• outdated
• outmoded
• outworn
• passé
• prehistoric
• prehistorical
• rusty
• Stone Age
• superannuated

Examples of fossilized in a Sentence

fossilized notions about the proper place of women in society

Recent Examples on the Web

On one end of the bone, a conical puncture breaks up the smooth, fossilized surface, according to the study. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 23 Jan. 2025

Type of Dinosaur According to study, researchers first found fossilized pieces of A. bahndooiveche legs in 2013. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025

On top of the insights about bone evolution, the work showcases techniques that could bring new revelations about fossilized cells, says Natasha Shylo Hyson, an evolutionary developmental biologist at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. —Byelizabeth Pennisi, science.org, 10 Jan. 2025

Because soft tissue does not preserve well, finding fossilized tissue is rare. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 19 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1