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
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Recent Examples of petrify
The thought of Alvarez running, jumping, sliding or injuring himself — for a team still missing Tucker — petrifies Espada.
—
Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 22 Aug. 2024
The body was supposedly petrified by sap, and the loggers found several gold coins dating to the late 1600s, as well as pieces of paper identifying the person as Pierre D’Artagnan.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
The West and Israel should be mindful over the apparent change in tempo of Iran’s uranium enrichment and be petrified of losing the wider war of non proliferation in a region unable to step back from the brink.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 28 Sep. 2024
The government - the governor is petrified in Colorado.
—CBS News, 22 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Chandler Rome, The Athletic, 22 Aug. 2024
The body was supposedly petrified by sap, and the loggers found several gold coins dating to the late 1600s, as well as pieces of paper identifying the person as Pierre D’Artagnan.
—Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 7 Oct. 2024
The West and Israel should be mindful over the apparent change in tempo of Iran’s uranium enrichment and be petrified of losing the wider war of non proliferation in a region unable to step back from the brink.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 28 Sep. 2024
The government - the governor is petrified in Colorado.
—CBS News, 22 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for petrify
Recent Examples of Synonyms for petrify
Verb
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Without them, distrust and disrespect undermine the actions.—
John S. Tobey,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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The liberation of the leaves will undermine the black-market trade and reduce deforestation by freeing for cultivation lands long ago cleared and abandoned.—
Wade Davis,
Rolling Stone,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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One way that could happen would be for foreign countries to weaken their currency to make the same product cheaper in dollars for tariff purposes, without raising the end cost to the consumer.—
Brendan Coffey,
Sportico.com,
4 Apr. 2025
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But that progress stalled out around the turn of the year, which weakened the case for further rate cuts and ultimately prompted the Fed to stand pat in January.—
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Until then, the negative effects of import taxes such as rising unemployment and a slowing economy will drain trillions of dollars from the revenues the administration hopes to raise.—
Howard Gleckman,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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Former President Joe Biden drained the reserve of more than 40% of its capacity when gas prices reached record highs, averaging more than $5 a gallon across the U.S. in June 2022.—
Dan McCaleb | The Center Square,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The weather this year has also left abundant vegetation in the region that has desiccated in the warm, dry air.—
Umair Irfan,
Vox,
7 Dec. 2018
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Santa Anas are those desiccating winds that occur commonly in winter, blowing out of Nevada and Utah and into southwestern California.—
Amy Graff,
New York Times,
19 Jan. 2025
Verb
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His aunt is exhausted, unsteady on her feet, her eyes red.—
David Bezmozgis,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2025
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The game lasts about two minutes in total before the AI calls it a day, exhausted from generating the worst gaming experience possible.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Making matters worse is the fact their horses are dehydrated.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
23 Mar. 2025
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Whatever the illness was has had lingering effects; Roberts noted that at one point Betts had lost 15 pounds and was severely dehydrated.—
Fabian Ardaya,
The Athletic,
17 Mar. 2025
Verb
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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
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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
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The victims are all male, the corpses all castrated, and each crime scene is signed with lines of poetry by the Argentinean writer Alejandra Pizarnik.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2025
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As MacCulloch writes, impoverished parents might arrange for their son to be castrated to better his prospects for religious life and education.—
S. C. Cornell,
The New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Petrify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/petrify. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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