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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Her focus is on long-term planning, the nimble deployment of neighborhood-level safety measures, and overhauling the ossified internal systems that have slowed ACHD’s response to the county’s breakneck growth. — Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 24 Oct. 2026 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ossified

Adjective

An honor that seems to bring things full circle for that stubborn little girl who dreamed of performing on stages around the world from her farm.

— Ilaria Perrotta, Vanity Fair, 24 Oct. 2026
How To Remove Leaf Stains With Chlorine Bleach Bleach is very effective at removing stubborn leaf stains, along with mildew and moss.

— Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 23 Oct. 2026

Definition of stubborn

Verb

And no conflict has crystallized this attraction to the world’s stronger nations over their weaker victims of aggression as has Russia’s war in Ukraine.

— Howard LaFranchi, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Oct. 2026
But now, as everything online morphs into algorithmic social media, the case for concern has crystallized into something quite specific.

— Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of crystallized

Adjective

Seems unlikely that Kiffin would be adamant that the Big Ten's nine-game conference schedule is dragging down their results.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
And Ballmer and the Clippers remain adamant the penalties—and the allegations of misconduct—are incorrect.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 20 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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“Ossified.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ossified. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of ossified

adjective

verb

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