calcify
verb
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What is the difference between ossify and calcify?
Medically speaking, ossify refers to the process by which bone forms, or by which tissue (usually cartilage) changes into bone. Ossification is a natural process that starts in utero and which comprises several different steps—one of which is the deposit of calcium salts, also known as calcification. Calcify, however, only refers to the deposit of calcium salts in soft tissue and is not synonymous with ossify. Ossification creates bone tissue, which is more than simply a deposit of calcium salts.
Both ossify and calcify have gained more general uses as well. Calcify refers to hardening, to becoming inflexible and unable to change:
What were once upstart revisionist currents calcified into self-regarding academic sub-specialties, sponsoring plenty of analysis but little fundamental debate.
— Sean Wilentz, The New Republic, 2 July 2001
Ossify refers to becoming inflexible, conventional, and resistant to change:
For these writers, the ossified ideologies of the world, imbedded in the communal imagination, block vision, and as artists they respond not by criticism from without but by confrontation from within.
—Robert Coover, The New York Times Book Review, 18 Mar. 1984
While ossify generally has a slightly more disparaging connotation to it than calcify does in general uses, our evidence shows that the two words are beginning to merge semantically.
Examples of calcify in a Sentence
Judd Devermont, Foreign Affairs, 27 June 2024
Fat transfer enhancements, popular among those seeking natural-looking breasts, can calcify into hard lumps and be mistaken for cancer during mammography—resulting in additional surgery.
—Beatrice Hazlehurst, Allure, 18 June 2024
In the ongoing battle between big tech and little tech, calcifying the market with regulatory capture that favors incumbents and drives the smartest people, their ideas, and their sources of capital away from health care isn’t the right way to proceed.
—Julie Yoo, STAT, 17 June 2024
Given other commitments, once-complementary roles calcified into strict divisions.
—Grayson Haver Currin, New York Times, 20 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for calcify 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'calcify.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near calcify
Cite this Entry
“Calcify.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calcify. Accessed 7 Jul. 2024.
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calcify
verb
Medical Definition
calcify
verb
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