FOSSILIZATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fossilization mean? 

• FOSSILIZATION (noun)
  The noun FOSSILIZATION has 2 senses:

1. the process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone

2. becoming inflexible or out of date

  Familiarity information: FOSSILIZATION used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FOSSILIZATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The process of fossilizing a plant or animal that existed in some earlier age; the process of being turned to stone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

fossilisation; fossilization

Hypernyms ("fossilization" is a kind of...):

action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fossilization"):

petrifaction; petrification (the process of turning some plant material into stone by infiltration with water carrying mineral particles without changing the original shape)

Derivation:

fossilize (convert to a fossil)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Becoming inflexible or out of date

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

fossilisation; fossilization

Hypernyms ("fossilization" is a kind of...):

passage; transition (the act of passing from one state or place to the next)

 Context examples 

But research conducted by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and colleagues has found that while low oxygen environments set the stage, it takes a breath of air to catalyze the fossilization process.

(Fossils may need air to form, National Science Foundation)