ossification
noun
os·si·fi·ca·tion
ˌä-sə-fə-ˈkā-shən 
1
a
: the natural process of bone formation
b
: the hardening (as of muscular tissue) into a bony substance
2
: a mass or particle of ossified tissue
3
: a tendency toward or state of being molded into a rigid, conventional, sterile, or unimaginative condition
Examples of ossification in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The network effect, Bitcoin’s massive security budget, and protocol ossification (its resistance to change) will become too appealing for many developers to ignore.
—
Nimrod Lehavi, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
Lee’s work cautions against conceptual ossification.
—Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
The Musée d’Orsay, home to the world’s largest collection of Impressionist art, has mounted an exhibition that challenges the mythology of the movement’s origins and the ossification of its aesthetic concerns.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
The middle-class high-rise generation is not wrong to fear its salvation from ossification, for a self on the verge of metamorphosis is also on the verge of liquidation.
—Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024
As ossification occurs, some baby bones also start smushing together, fusing into single, solid structures.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
She was diagnosed with spinal degeneration with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, or OPLL.
—Eileen Finan, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2023
What this analysis overlooks is the extent to which these economic problems are part of a broader process of political ossification and ideological hardening.
—Ian Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023
Even a short history of cigarette use during the prime period for bone growth and ossification—adolescence and early adulthood—was correlated with a significant increase in the risk of osteoporotic fractures during late adulthood.
—Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2023
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Nimrod Lehavi, Forbes, 2 Dec. 2024
Lee’s work cautions against conceptual ossification.
—Pablo Larios, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2024
The Musée d’Orsay, home to the world’s largest collection of Impressionist art, has mounted an exhibition that challenges the mythology of the movement’s origins and the ossification of its aesthetic concerns.
—Emily Labarge, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
The middle-class high-rise generation is not wrong to fear its salvation from ossification, for a self on the verge of metamorphosis is also on the verge of liquidation.
—Becca Rothfeld, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024
As ossification occurs, some baby bones also start smushing together, fusing into single, solid structures.
—Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 3 Nov. 2023
She was diagnosed with spinal degeneration with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, or OPLL.
—Eileen Finan, Peoplemag, 23 Sep. 2023
What this analysis overlooks is the extent to which these economic problems are part of a broader process of political ossification and ideological hardening.
—Ian Johnson, Foreign Affairs, 22 Aug. 2023
Even a short history of cigarette use during the prime period for bone growth and ossification—adolescence and early adulthood—was correlated with a significant increase in the risk of osteoporotic fractures during late adulthood.
—Scientific American, 23 Apr. 2023
Dictionary Entries Near ossification
Cite this Entry
“Ossification.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ossification. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
ossification
noun
os·si·fi·ca·tion
ˌäs-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən
: the natural process of bone formation
Medical Definition
ossification
noun
os·si·fi·ca·tion
ˌäs-ə-fə-ˈkā-shən
1
a
: the process of bone formation usually beginning at particular centers in each prospective bone and involving the activities of special osteoblasts that segregate and deposit inorganic bone substance about themselves compare calcification sense a
b
: an instance of this process
2
a
: the condition of being altered into a hard bony substance
ossification of soft tissue
b
: a mass or particle of ossified tissue : a calcareous deposit in the tissues
ossifications in the aortic wall
ossificatory
adjective
ˈäs-ə-fə-kə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr-; especially British ˌäs-ə-fə-ˈkāt-(ə-)rē
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