fossilizes
Turns to rock
Fossilizes means becomes a fossil—organic remains preserved in rock over geological time.
The process requires specific conditions: rapid burial, mineral replacement, absence of decay.
Figuratively, to fossilize is to become rigid or outdated, stuck in old ways: The department has fossilized around procedures from the 1980s.
Her thinking fossilized years ago.
Convert to inorganic matter
- calcifyHite calcium deposits form
- lithifyConvert to stone
- silicifyReplace with quartz
- hardenMake or become firm
solidify · crystallize · replace · infiltrate · silica · pyrite · stone · petrified
Hardened ancient tree secretion
- bogAcidic peat wetland
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- encapsulationSurrounding on all sides
entombment · burial · mummification · desiccation · impression · resin · cast · mold
Extinct prehistoric reptiles
- trilobitesExtinct marine arthropods
- ammonitesExtinct coiled-shell cephalopods
- archaeopteryxEarly feathered dinosaur genus
- mastodonExtinct elephantine Pleistocene mammal
megafauna · excavation · carbon-dating · paleobiology · paleoecology · invertebrates · vertebrates · extinct
Convert to calcium tissue
- rigidifyMake firm, unyielding
- fixateFocus obsessively on
- stagnateCease to develop
- entrenchFix firmly in place
calcify · crystallize · immobilize · freeze · stuck · outdated · antiquated · unchanged
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- CambrianEarliest Paleozoic period
- PrecambrianEarliest geological eon
- PermianLate Paleozoic geological period
Devonian · Carboniferous · Pleistocene · Mesozoic · Paleozoic · Cenozoic · Triassic · Ordovician
mineralize
Convert to inorganic matter
harden · solidify · crystallize · replace · infiltrate · silica · pyrite · stone · petrified
amber
Hardened ancient tree secretion
- bogAcidic peat wetland
- permafrostPerpetually frozen earth layer
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
encapsulation · entombment · burial · mummification · desiccation · impression · resin · cast · mold · trace
dinosaurs
Extinct prehistoric reptiles
- trilobitesExtinct marine arthropods
- ammonitesExtinct coiled-shell cephalopods
- archaeopteryxEarly feathered dinosaur genus
mastodon · megafauna · excavation · carbon-dating · paleobiology · paleoecology · invertebrates · vertebrates · extinct · specimen
ossify
Convert to calcium tissue
entrench · calcify · crystallize · immobilize · freeze · stuck · outdated · antiquated · unchanged · inflexible
Jurassic
Dinosaur-dominated geological period
- CretaceousFinal Mesozoic period
- CambrianEarliest Paleozoic period
- PrecambrianEarliest geological eon
Permian · Devonian · Carboniferous · Pleistocene · Mesozoic · Paleozoic · Cenozoic · Triassic · Ordovician · Silurian
fossilizesdecomposes
Breaks into simpler components
decays · rots · putrefies · biodegrades · disintegrates
fossilizesevolves
Changes gradually over time
adapts · transforms · modernizes · innovates · develops
- fossilized bonesMineralized ancient skeletal material
- fossilized shellPreserved prehistoric exoskeleton
- fossilized remainsPreserved prehistoric organisms
- fossilized tracksPreserved prehistoric footprints
- fossilized woodMineralized ancient plant remains