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
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
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025
Medusa was known in ancient Greece for petrifying anyone who dared to look her in the eye, and has been seen as a personification of madness.
—Sarah Belmont, ARTnews.com, 17 Dec. 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
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Now, its Supreme Court is moving to hold a former president accountable for allegedly trying to undermine democracy and steer the country back toward authoritarian rule.—
Júlia Dias Carneiro,
NPR,
11 Sep. 2025
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Failing to meet that obligation undermines not only educational opportunity, but also the sovereignty, economic vitality, and cultural survival of Tribal nations.—
Marybeth Gasman,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Israeli strikes severely weakened Hezbollah – culminating in the assassination of its revered leader, Hassan Nasrallah – and significantly curtailed the group’s domestic clout.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
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Symptoms related to Listeria monocytogenes Listeria is especially harmful to people whose immune system is weakened or not fully developed but can also impact healthy individuals.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Add to this poor emotional literacy, a lack of transparency, back-to-back meetings and the energy-draining complexity of navigating competing priorities.—
Sandro da Silva,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
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Reopening is dependent on how well the area drains.—
Gillian Stawiszynski,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
11 Sep. 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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With all other options seemingly exhausted, Una and Spock decide to take another path by getting in touch with their crewmates’ katras, roughly the Vulcan term for the soul, though the Vulcans would probably not want to use that term.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
4 Sep. 2025
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Jones remained on Ohio's death row for decades, exhausting most of his appeals, until Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Wende Cross overturned his murder conviction, freed him from prison and granted him a new trial two years ago.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
3 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Mill’s technology dehydrates food scraps overnight, reducing volume by up to 80%.—
Chelsea Davis,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The notion that coffee is dehydrating is a myth, albeit a long-standing one.—
Fran Kritz,
Health,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Looming over all of it has been the sad, enervating situation with Alexander Isak, forever enshrined as a club legend by dint of Wembley last season but now beyond the point of tarnishing that legacy.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
10 Aug. 2025
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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
Verb
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Donkey has now been castrated, and the adorable family trio lives together in a large field with Partridge's other horses.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Aug. 2025
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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
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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