petrified
adjective
[ ˈpɛtrɪfʌɪd ]
• so frightened that one is unable to move; terrified.
• "the petrified child clung to her mother"
• (of organic matter) changed into a stony substance; ossified.
• "petrified wood"
petrify
verb
• change (organic matter) into a stony substance by encrusting or replacing it with a calcareous, siliceous, or other mineral deposit.
• make (someone) so frightened that they are unable to move.
• "his icy controlled quietness petrified her"
Similar:
terrified,
terror-stricken,
terror-struck,
horrified,
horror-stricken,
horror-struck,
scared witless,
scared/frightened to death,
aghast,
appalled,
paralysed,
stunned,
stupefied,
transfixed,
benumbed,
frozen,
terrify,
horrify,
frighten,
scare,
scare to death,
scare witless,
frighten the life out of,
strike terror into,
fill with fear,
put the fear of God into,
make someone's blood run cold,
chill someone's blood,
panic,
throw into a panic,
alarm,
appal,
paralyse,
stun,
stupefy,
transfix,
scare the pants off,
throw into a blue funk,
put the wind up,
scare the bejesus out of,
affright,
Origin:
late Middle English: from French pétrifier, from medieval Latin petrificare, from Latin petra ‘rock’, from Greek.
