fossilizations
Ancient organic preservations
Fossilizations are instances of becoming fossilized—preserved in rock over geological time, or figuratively, made rigid and outdated.
The word appears in both scientific and metaphorical contexts: The fossilizations in this stratum date to the Jurassic period.
Bureaucratic fossilizations prevented any meaningful reform.
Representative items for examination
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- bonesRigid internal support structure
- petrificationBecoming rock-like
- amberHardened ancient tree secretion
imprints · mineralization · excavation · sediment · strata · prehistoric · remains · trilobites
Long-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- relicsPreserved items from antiquity
- vestigesRemaining traces of something
anachronisms · conventions · institutions · orthodoxy · stagnation · rigidity · unchanging · preserved
Rigid administrative system
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- policiesAdopted courses of action
- proceduresSet methods for tasks
- red tapeBureaucratic obstacles to action
inefficiency · stagnation · inflexibility · resistance · inertia · entrenchment · rigidity · calcification
How speech transforms over time
- archaismsOutdated words or phrases
- idiomsFixed figurative expressions
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
- grammarLanguage's structural rules
etymology · ablaut · inflection · ossification · formulaic · diachronic · retention
specimens
Representative items for examination
- dinosaursExtinct prehistoric reptiles
- bonesRigid internal support structure
- petrificationBecoming rock-like
amber · imprints · mineralization · excavation · sediment · strata · prehistoric · remains · trilobites · ammonites
traditions
Long-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- relicsPreserved items from antiquity
vestiges · anachronisms · conventions · institutions · orthodoxy · stagnation · rigidity · unchanging · preserved · antiquated
bureaucracy
Rigid administrative system
- institutionsEstablished organizations or practices
- policiesAdopted courses of action
- proceduresSet methods for tasks
red tape · inefficiency · stagnation · inflexibility · resistance · inertia · entrenchment · rigidity · calcification · administrative
language change
How speech transforms over time
- archaismsOutdated words or phrases
- idiomsFixed figurative expressions
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
grammar · etymology · ablaut · inflection · ossification · formulaic · diachronic · retention
fossilizationsdecompositions
Breakings into simpler parts
decay · putrefaction · rotting · biodegradation · disintegration
fossilizationsevolutions
Gradual developmental processes
adaptations · transformations · flexibilities · dynamisms · mutations
fossilizationsmodernizations
Acts of updating outdated systems
revitalizations · renewals · innovations · updates · revivals