petrified.

1. Extremely frightened, often as if unable to move or think freely.

2. Turned into stone or replaced by mineral material over time.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• petrified of heights
• absolutely petrified
• petrified with fear

On the page

She was petrified of the drop beyond the broken rail.

The lost child stood petrified beside the locked gate.

I was petrified, but I still remembered the radio procedure.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Figurative emotional sense; often hyperbolic in conversation. Literal petrified means turned into stone and should remain distinct. Normally non-gradable in this sense; degree words describe intensity, not a regular comparison.