ossified 1 of 2

adjective

as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion the company's ossified management team failed to see the technological revolution that was sweeping their own industry

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ossified

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ossify
as in calcified

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Example Sentences

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 ossified
Adjective
In her film, Sanguinetti presents a subtle thread about the nature of western spaces defined by ossified traditions, the face of which is being altered by the specter of modernity. — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026 In his view, abolishing the proscenium would help dismantle ossified hierarchies. — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 29 July 2026 These had a head dominated by large eyes and a partially ossified jaw—but again, no external gills. — Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2026 But rather than simply repeat the even-then ossified list of events leading to the invention of photography and the medium’s later innovations, the book uses a series of stories, reminiscences, and tall tales to describe how photography transformed everyday (and not so everyday) experience. — Literary Hub, 27 Apr. 2026 Lockhart, a mathematician who taught first at Brown University and UC Santa Cruz and then for many years at Saint Ann’s, a progressive private school in Brooklyn, argues that the injury is due to our ossified K–12 mathematics curriculum. — Dan Rockmore, The New York Review of Books, 19 Mar. 2026 The collective dream was for a new, democratic structure that could replace Assad’s ossified legal regime. — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ossified
  1. stubborn
  2. crystallized
  3. adamant
  4. petrified
  5. hardened
Adjective
  • The Federal Reserve is also hiking rates again to rein in stubborn inflation.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Pair that with five years of stubborn inflation, and workers are losing even more ground.
    — Alicia Wallace, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of stubborn
Verb
  • Sunday’s 31-24 loss to Cincinnati – the latest miserable day during this depressing season - crystallized several issues that general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley must navigate in the days and weeks ahead.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Diamonds are crystallized under tremendous pressure and heat deep inside the Earth and then thrust to the surface through volcanic activity before they’re scattered by water or wind.
    — LAURA TURBAY, ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of crystallized
Adjective
  • Schnell was adamant that the film crew couldn’t provide any help to him.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Lander was adamant that rezonings didn’t have to go the way of Williamsburg.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of adamant
Verb
  • 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
  • Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
Definition of petrified
Adjective
  • O’Brien’s Ted Keegan is a father, farmer and military veteran — a hardened man who’s spent much of his life following orders and keeping secrets.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
  • And yet, for a millennia after the fall of Rome, the world largely forgot about concrete, until, in the 18th century, an English mason found that mixing limestone and clay could form a paste that hardened underwater.
    — Sara Herschander, Vox, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of hardened

Browse Nearby Words

osmotic
ossified
ossifies
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Cite this Entry

“Ossified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ossified. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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