ossify
/ˈɑ.sə.faɪ/verb
ossify is spelled O-S-S-I-F-Y: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, ossify means “To transform (or cause to transform) from a softer animal substance into bone; particularly the processes of growth in humans and animals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ossify?
| Letters | 6: O-S-S-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 46 million words; the 209,386th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ossify?
Ossify appears about once in every 46 million words in written English, the 209,386th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ossify?
- UK /ˈɒs.ɪ.faɪ/
- US /ˈɑ.sə.faɪ/
Ossify has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ossify.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ossify
- ossifies present, singular, he/she/it
- ossifying participle, present
- ossified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ossify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To transform (or cause to transform) from a softer animal substance into bone; particularly the processes of growth in humans and animals.
- 2
To become (or cause to become) inflexible and rigid in habits or opinions.
- 3
To grow (or cause to grow) formulaic and permanent.
- 4
rareTo calcify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ossify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to transform into bone:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ossify come from?
Back-formation from ossification, or modeled on French ossifier and formed from Latin os, ossis (“bone”) + -ify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).