petrify (verb) - to paralyze with fear; to turn to stone [pe-truh-fahy]
BREAKDOWN: PETR- (rock, stone) + -IFY (to make or do)
petrified means rendered motionless by terror or transformed to stone
petrification refers to any process that turns organic material into stone (also petrifaction)
See also: Fright Night
“When one has understood, one stops, satisfied with what one has understood... But a mere why, a new why can set one off again, can unpetrify what was petrified and everything starts flowing afresh.” —Eugène Ionesco
