noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The process of converting, or of being converted, into a fossil. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   becoming inflexible or out of date wordnet
3. 3
   The process of becoming fixed, unchanging, and out of date. broadly, countable, figuratively, uncountable
4. 4
   the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

arteriosclerosisatherosclerosisfossilificationfossilisationhardeningpetrification

Example

More examples

"Fossilization is the result of the compression of organisms by the earth during a lot of time."

Etymology

From fossil + -ization or fossilize + -ation.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.