pétrifier
\pe.tʁi.fje\
The verdict
“pétrifier” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency French
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Convertir en matière pierreuse.
Corpus desk
Index FR-petrifier · pétrifier · French
pétrifier · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | pétrifier |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \pe.tʁi.fje\ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Longue queue: rang de « pétrifier » en français
Rare enough to double-check
pétrifier is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed \pe.tʁi.fje\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for pétrifier, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is pétrifier, spelled P-É-T-R-I-F-I-E-R.
Definition
- 1Convertir en matière pierreuse.
- 2Frapper de stupeur, rendre immobile.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how pétrifier appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Il y a des eaux qui pétrifient les choses qu’on y jette.
Suivant la Fable, la tête de Méduse avait la vertu de pétrifier ceux qui la regardaient.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.