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• out-of-date
• outdated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

Further evidence that Au. afarensis overlapped with other hominins came in 2015, when Haile-Selassie and his colleagues announced their discovery of fossilized upper and lower jaws from a species new to science, Australopithecus deyiremeda. —Donald C. Johanson, Scientific American, 15 Oct. 2024

Trapped in sinkholes or lost within labyrinthine passages, these animals died, and their remains became fossilized and preserved by rising water levels. —Martin Broen, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024

The fossilized tree resin is worked as a gemstone and has been used for centuries in the Baltics to make accessories for the wealthy and nobility. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2024

This natural powder is made from fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. —Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1794, in the meaning defined at sense 1