Advanced and Proficiency Vocabulary for Exams(e.g.GRE, Banks, Civil Services, SAT / LSAT). For IELTS/TOEFL, and everyday spoken vocabulary, go to our Spoken Vocabulary Database.
petrify | petrified | petrifying
petrify petrified petrifying
Exam frequency
greatly frighten somebody
- How to Memorize
- petrify - scare
- Analysis
The implication with the word ‘petrify’ is that you scare somebody to such a degree that they freeze as if suddenly turned to stone. So, if you have ever been so frightened that you momentarily cannot move or think, then you have been ‘petrified’.
- Example(s)
The thought of losing my job absolutely petrifies me. I don’t know what I’d do.
Jon is a petrifying individual. He is capable of extreme violence.
I couldn’t do anything during the armed robbery. I just stood still, petrified.
