🇬🇧 Petrify meaning: English Vocabulary Flash Card

To petrify someone means to scare them so badly that they feel frozen, like a statue. They are so frightened that they can’t move their body or get any words to come out. They’re not really turned to stone, but it feels like they are stuck in place because they are so scared.

A spider on the ceiling petrified Dad so much he tried to negotiate peace with it.

The haunted house was designed to petrify people, but it mainly petrified the actors when kids screamed back.

The creepy painting in the hallway petrified guests, so we gave it sunglasses to make it less intense.

The idea of Grandma learning to use a skateboard petrified the entire neighborhood.

The doll’s eyes seemed to follow me and petrified me until I realized my little brother was moving it with a string.

At dusk, Sara crept into the cave and a stone figure stepped out. The sight would petrify anyone. It seemed to petrify her heart, petrify her voice, petrify her legs, petrify her hands, and petrify her eyes. She could not move or speak. A soft laugh broke the spell, and she slowly walked home.

This word is at the C2 level, which means it represents the highest mastery of English. It’s often used in specialized or highly formal contexts and helps you communicate with precision and subtlety, much like a native speaker.

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