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fossilize

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
fos·sil·ize  (fs-lz)
v. fos·sil·ized, fos·sil·iz·ing, fos·sil·iz·es
v.tr.
1. To convert into a fossil.
2. To make outmoded or inflexible with time; antiquate.
v.intr.
To become a fossil.

fossil·i·zation (-s-l-zshn) n.

fossilize, fossilise [ˈfɒsɪˌlaɪz]
vb
1. (Earth Sciences / Palaeontology) to convert or be converted into a fossil
2. to become or cause to become antiquated or inflexible
fossilizable , fossilisable adj
fossilization , fossilisation n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.fossilize - convert to a fossil; "The little animals fossilized and are now embedded in the limestone"
convert - change the nature, purpose, or function of something; "convert lead into gold"; "convert hotels into jails"; "convert slaves to laborers"
lapidify, petrify - change into stone; "the wood petrified with time"
2.fossilize - become mentally inflexible
senesce, age, maturate, mature, get on - grow old or older; "She aged gracefully"; "we age every day--what a depressing thought!"; "Young men senesce"
Translations
fossilize [ˈfɒsɪˌlaɪz] vifossilizzarsi


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Bones and shells fossilize more readily than an organism's soft parts do, but even delicate tissues such as the multicellular embryos in eggs laid by marine organisms can be preserved under the right environmental conditions (SN: 1/28/06, p.
Chiappe speculates that overflowing streams flooded the dino nesting site and buried the eggs under layers of mud, which helped preserve and fossilize the eggs.
 
 
 
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