v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Petrified p. pr. & vb. n. Petrifying ] [ L. petra rock, Gr. pe`tra (akin to pe`tros a stone) + -fy: cf. F. pétrifier. Cf. Parrot, Petrel, Pier. ] 1. To convert, as any animal or vegetable matter, into stone or stony substance; as, petrified wood. [ 1913 Webster ]

A river that petrifies any sort of wood or leaves. Kirwan. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To make callous or obdurate; to transform, as by petrifaction; as, to petrify the heart. Young. “Petrifying accuracy.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

And petrify a genius to a dunce. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

A hideous fatalism, which ought, logically, to petrify your volition. G. Eliot. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To paralyze, especially with fear; to stupefy; as, she was petrified by the sight of the bear in her tent. [ PJC ]

The poor, petrified journeyman, quite unconscious of what he was doing. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Fig.: To become stony, callous, or obdurate. [ 1913 Webster ]

Like Niobe we marble grow,
And petrify with grief. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]