petrify
/ˈpɛ.tɹəˌfaɪ/verb
petrify is spelled P-E-T-R-I-F-Y: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 139,999th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, petrify means “To turn to stone: to harden organic matter by permeating with water and depositing dissolved minerals” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in petrify?
| Letters | 7: P-E-T-R-I-F-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 21 million words; the 139,999th 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 petrify?
Petrify appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 139,999th 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 petrify?
- US /ˈpɛ.tɹəˌfaɪ/
Petrify 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-petrify.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-petrify.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of petrify
- petrifies present, singular, he/she/it
- petrifying participle, present
- petrified participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petrify mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To turn to stone: to harden organic matter by permeating with water and depositing dissolved minerals.
- 2
To produce rigidity akin to stone.
- 3
To immobilize with fright.
- 4
To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits.
- 5
To become stony, callous, or obdurate.
- 6
To make callous or obdurate; to stupefy; to paralyze; to transform; as by petrification.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Petrify in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pétrifier |
| German | versteinern , erstarren |
| Portuguese | petrificar |
| Spanish | petrificar |
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 petrify come from?
From Middle French pétrifier, from Medieval Latin petrificāre, from Latin petra (“rock”), from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra, “rock”) + -ficāre, from facere (“do, make”), equivalent to petro- + -ify.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).