Gorgonize

Word of the Day for Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Gorgonize \GAWR-guh-nahyz\, verb:

To affect as a Gorgon; hypnotize; petrify.

Shorten it, then, to what is functional, direct and bluntly, derogatorily descriptive. Of his awful power to horrify, to gorgonize, to chill.
-- Christopher Rush, Last Lesson of the Afternoon

Mortimo Planno could gorgonize foes with a stony stare, but his deep baritone voice was seductive and unexpectedly disarming.
-- Colin Grant, The Natural Mystics

Gorgonize is the verbification of an ancient Greek mythological figure. The Gorgons were three sister monsters commonly represented as having snakes for hair, wings, and brazen claws. Their eyes turned anyone looking into them to stone. Thus to gorgonize someone is to turn them into stone.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com