OSSIFIED Synonyms: 150 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ossified

2 of 2

verb

past tense of ossify

as in calcified

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

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 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 The status quo—an ossified theocracy presiding over a bankrupt economy and an aggrieved populace—has already proven unsustainable. — Ali Vaez, Time, 15 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ossified

Adjective

Speaking in Jackson Hole, Wyoming late last week, Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh highlighted his worries about stubborn inflation .

— Darla Mercado, CFP®, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026
Knight set up Darby on a table and hit a springboard clothesline on the stubborn announce table.

— Alfred Konuwa, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of stubborn

Verb

But the moment that crystallized the problem was personal, not professional.

— Geri Stengel, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
That brittleness, though, is exactly what has made Criston’s turn toward nihilism at the end of the second season, and now crystallized in episode five, so gratifying.

— The Editors, Vulture, 17 July 2026

Definition of crystallized

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

The water alone will create steam in the microwave, softening any hardened debris.

— Kate Van Pelt, The Spruce, 29 Aug. 2026
Under the shadow of a red Force Recon Association hat and tinted glasses, Capers’ eyes wore a hardened look that made no effort to hide the darkness and despair that gripped him at that moment.

— Ethan Rocke, Charlotte Observer, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of hardened

Browse Nearby Words

osmotic

ossified

ossifies

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ossified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ossified. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of ossified

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

conscientious

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Popular in Wordplay

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Games & Quizzes