as in exhausted
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of petrified
The only issue is his mother Laura (Wright), a woman who has lost a child once before and is petrified of a repeat.
—
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for petrified
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrified
Verb
-
Meanwhile, the man captaining the boat that gets her into the Amazon is possessed by thoughts of a lost love, a story even a head-in-her-hands Tereza is exhausted by.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
3 Apr. 2026
-
And what if the low-hanging fruit is exhausted and settlements become harder to come by?—
Adam Summers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
For the Royals, the loss undermined a stellar performance from starting pitcher Michael Wacha.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
29 Mar. 2026
-
These institutions undermined themselves too.—
Gil Troy,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The escalation in the Middle East has drained both attention and resources away from Ukraine, Vadym, 31, added.—
Yuliya Talmazan,
NBC news,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Gilgeous-Alexander was 5 of 15 from the floor in the first three quarters, but drained all three of his shots in the fourth.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
29 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
But, Scanlon noted, the budget was weakened by federal policy changes.—
Keith M. Phaneuf,
Hartford Courant,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Shipping and insurance costs, inflation and uncertainty are on the rise, and with currencies in developing countries now weakened, imports such as fuel and food are even more expensive for residents.—
Kevin Liptak,
CNN Money,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Their leaves will begin to shrivel up, and their stems and roots will look dehydrated and thin.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The child was not dehydrated and was discharged.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Mahdi and Khadija had been struck by drought, and their bed was dry and desiccated, waterless down to its depths.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Dried or desiccated coconut flakes can be replaced with fresh coconut meat, or omit.—
The Washington Post,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
After his conviction, Turing was chemically castrated.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
20 Feb. 2026
-
Set in the Italian opera world of the 1700s, Rice’s novel tells the not-for-the-squeamish story of two male soprano singers who were castrated as boys in order to maintain their high voices.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
12 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The hosts at Peacock Alley wore floor-length dresses with golden paillettes that would not be amiss on an Emmys red carpet.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
-
One guest wore lettuce on his head, another had a bird’s nest in her antlers, and a third donned a pineapple on top of a wire basket.—
Serena Turner,
Vanity Fair,
30 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Petrified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrified. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
