OSSIFY Synonyms: 40 Similar and Opposite Words

ossify

verb

Definition of ossify

as in to calcify

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ossify The application is old, and time has ossified it into something like an unapproachably evil Mayan relic, filled with shadowy regexes and dark magic, fit to be worshipped from afar but not trifled with. — Lee Hutchinson, ArsTechnica, 4 Feb. 2026 And he's taken aim at the foreign policy apparatus, describing institutions like the NSC and State Department as having been ossified and out of touch. — Franco Ordoñez, NPR, 26 Jan. 2026 This year’s awards narrative was already feeling especially ossified. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2026 The world has yet to ossify into routine; reality remains at the consistency of putty. — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 21 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ossify

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ossify

Verb

The time to make the architectural choice is now, before the capital concentrates, the models calcify and the window for integration closes.

— Yariv Cohen, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Over time, that bone started to calcify and thicken, bothering his labrums.

— Scott Wheeler, New York Times, 22 May 2026

Definition of calcify

Verb

Chidgasornpongse crystallizes that cosmic doom further when Grandma Saluay falls half-asleep or stares out the van window, her mind drifting into the ether.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2026
Yet its inspiration lies in the desert rose, a mineral formation that crystallizes beneath salt basins into flat plates resembling rose petals.

— Kieron Marchese, Architectural Digest, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of crystallize

Verb

Here, a source of primordial terror—the gaze that petrifies—is deflected by way of the highly polished shield that Perseus wields against the creature.

— Jan Tumlir, Artforum, 5 Aug. 2026
The first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 May 2026

Definition of petrify

Verb

These high-acidity juices can cause whey protein powder to coagulate and curdle.

— Carrie Madormo, Verywell Health, 2 Oct. 2026
Reciprocal male-on-male mounting among corpse-eating burying beetles increases with heat stress, and chronic heat stress coagulates the blood of Holstein Friesian cattle.

— J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of coagulate

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ossifies

ossify

ossifying

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“Ossify.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ossify. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ossify

verb

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