Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

petrifying

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.90 in modern English

Syllables: pet-ri-fy-ing
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Causing immense fear; extremely scary

verb

present participle and gerund of petrify

Example Sentences

"The idea of speaking in front of such a large audience was petrifying."

Synonyms

frightening terrifying

Questions

What does petrifying mean?: Causing immense fear; extremely scary

How to pronounce petrifying

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “petrifying”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “petrifying”.
Repeat and practice — Say “petrifying” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.