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)

1. The thought of losing my job absolutely petrifies me. I don’t know what I’d do.

2. Jon is a petrifying individual. He is capable of extreme violence.

3. I couldn’t do anything during the armed robbery. I just stood still, petrified.