1. A description of something that has slowly changed into stone after a long time: There is a national park in eastern Arizona, U.S.A., that has petrified trees dating from the Triassic Period which is estimated as existing from 230 million to 190 million years ago.
2. A reference to being very afraid of something or someone and unable to move or to respond: Jack was petrified while he was walking on a sidewalk next to a hedge, because a dog suddenly started to bark at him from the other side.

1. To convert or to change something into rocky substances: In order to petrify wood, there needs to be an environment without oxygen, but with minerals, which then fill the cells of the tree and convert it into a very hard material, such as a stone.
2. To paralyze someone with astonishment, horror, or another strong emotional situation that makes someone rigid or unable to move: Jack was totally petrified and speechless when he lost his job and his wife at the same time.

The hard fibrous substance that exists under the bark of trees: Petrified wood is the result of fossilization that preserves various pieces of timber as a rock or as pieces of stones.