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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples 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 petrify
The government - the governor is petrified in Colorado.
—
CBS News, 22 Sep. 2024
When North Korea tested a ballistic missile in 2009, the public was petrified at first but quickly lost interest.
—Takashi Yokota, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2012
People were petrified of being rendered obsolete and losing their jobs.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Danvers is a person that has absolutely frozen herself, petrified herself, hardened herself.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petrify 
CBS News, 22 Sep. 2024
When North Korea tested a ballistic missile in 2009, the public was petrified at first but quickly lost interest.
—Takashi Yokota, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2012
People were petrified of being rendered obsolete and losing their jobs.
—Ann Kowal Smith, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
Danvers is a person that has absolutely frozen herself, petrified herself, hardened herself.
—Kate Aurthur, Variety, 19 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
-
These errors create substantial barriers for patients seeking care and undermine the effectiveness of network adequacy regulations.Tammy Hawes, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
-
The judge is going to go to work to try to undermine her in a number of ways.Angelique Jackson, Variety, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
In addition, hiring has slowed a bit in recent months, raising the risk that the economy could weaken in the coming months.Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2024
-
Too much water can cause the fibers to weaken, become brittle, and break.Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Gabriel stood awkwardly between the door and the back of a sofa, facing Thornton, and his calm drained away.Daisy Hildyard, The New Yorker, 15 Dec. 2024
-
Keep in mind that this gearing will drain the battery more than when driven at slower city speeds.New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
From the very first frame of a new episode of Hot Ones Versus, Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor is gasping for breath from behind his trademark mask, which looks like either a desiccating corpse or a wasp’s nest with dreadlocks.Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 2 Oct. 2024
-
Scientists have reported feeling shock and loss with each consecutive return to the Great Barrier Reef, as new expanses of coral bleach and desiccate.Eve Andrews, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2024
Verb
-
The company’s demand for talent likely exceeded these annual totals, but Congress has set a yearly limit on H-1B petitions that employers have exhausted for the past two decades.Stuart Anderson, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
-
In the 1790s, after about a decade of loyal service, many members of the corps were physically exhausted by the demands of their duties.Kinsey Gidick, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
This can manifest as visible dehydration, as alcohol quickly dehydrates your skin (taking away plumpness and glow).Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 26 Nov. 2024
-
Alcohol: Alcohol can dehydrate you and weaken your immune system.Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 21 Nov. 2024
Verb
-
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
-
The saving grace of this often enervating thriller is that Doscher grants time for his actors to build character and intimacy, and both Pinto and Odom offer warm, affectingly natural performances as two people facing the end of their world.Teo Bugbee, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2020
Verb
-
In 1952, Turing was prosecuted for homosexual acts, a criminal offense at the time, and chose to be chemically castrated instead of serving prison time.Carlie Porterfield, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024
-
According to the memorandum and witness testimony, Clark attempted to castrate herself in her cell.Kaitlyn Pohly, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near petrify
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share