noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   Turning to stone: the process of replacement of the organic residues of plants (and animals) with insoluble salts, with the original shape and topography being retained. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   the process of turning some plant material into stone by infiltration with water carrying mineral particles without changing the original shape wordnet
3. 3
   obduracy; callousness. countable, figuratively, uncountable

   "a Petrification or Mortification of the Mind"

4. 4
   Sheer terror; great fright. countable, figuratively, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

petrifactionpetrifactionancient manuscriptantiqueantiquityarchaism

Example

More examples

"Ziri stood in complete petrification."

Etymology

From French pétrification, from Middle French pétrifier + -ation.

Related phrases

petrified forestpetrified wood

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