Ossified
[OS-ih-fied]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: Latin, early 18th century
1.
Transformed into bone
2.
Became rigid in habit or belief
Examples of Ossified in a sentence
"Bone is just cartilage that ossified over time."
"As she aged, she ossified and rejected any attempts to change her habits."
About Ossified
Close, but not exact, "calcified" is a near-synonym of "ossified." Ossification is the complete process of turning soft tissue into bone. Calcification is one of the steps in that process — depositing calcium salts into the tissue. But in the figurative sense of having become resistant to change, ossified and calcified are interchangable.
Did you Know?
The prefix "oss-" is Latin for "bone," and it makes up the root of a few other bony terms. Ossification is the process of converting into bone. "Osseous" is an adjective for anything made of or resembling bone. On the creepier side, an ossuary is a container or building for human bones, commonly used when burial space is scarce.
