PETRIFYING

petrifying

(adjective) paralyzing with terror

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Adjective

petrifying

Causing immense fear; extremely scary

Synonyms: frightening, terrifying

Verb

petrifying

present participle of petrify

Source: Wiktionary


PETRIFY

Pet"ri*fy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Petrified; p. pr. & vb. n. Petrifying.] Etym: [L. petra rock, Gr. -fy: cf. F. pétrifier. Cf. Parrot, Petrel, Pier.]

1. To convert, as any animal or vegetable matter, into stone or stony substance. A river that petrifies any sort of wood or leaves. Kirwan.

2. To make callous or obdurate; to stupefy; to paralyze; to transform; as by petrifaction; as, to petrify the heart. Young. "Petrifying accuracy." Sir W. Scott. And petrify a genius to a dunce. Pope. The poor, petrified journeyman, quite unconscious of what he was doing. De Quincey. A hideous fatalism, which ought, logically, to petrify your volition. G. Eliot.

Pet"ri*fy, v. i.

1. To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits.

2. Fig.: To become stony, callous, or obdurate. Like Niobe we marble grow, And petrify with grief. Dryden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

15 November 2024

HISTOLOGICALLY

(adverb) involving the use of histology or histological techniques; “histologically identifiable structures”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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