petrify — to make someone extremely frightened and unable to move or think
Part of speech: VERB
Definition: to make someone extremely frightened and unable to move or think
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈpetrɪfaɪ/
Example Sentences
- The teacher's angry glare petrified the students who forgot their homework.
- She was petrified of giving a speech in front of 500 people.
- My grandmother is petrified of technology - she thinks her smartphone will explode.
petrify
VERB[/ˈpetrɪfaɪ/]
to make someone extremely frightened and unable to move or think
The sudden shadow in the alley made her petrify with fear.
The more we clarify, the more we terrify and petrify.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
From French pétrifier, derived from Latin petra meaning 'stone' combined with the suffix -fy (meaning 'to make'). The word originally referred to turning into stone, and metaphorically came to mean rendering someone motionless with fear.
Breakdown
petra (stone, from Latin) + -fy (to make, from Latin facere) = petrify (to turn to stone, or to frighten completely)
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“The teacher's angry glare petrified the students who forgot their homework.”
“She was petrified of giving a speech in front of 500 people.”
“My grandmother is petrified of technology - she thinks her smartphone will explode.”
“The dinosaur bones were petrified over millions of years.”
📚Related Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
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