the process of becoming a fossil (= something preserved in rock for a very long period)

In the fossilization process, minerals replace the constituents of bones, turning them to stone. 在石化过程中，矿物质取代了骨骸成分，将其变成化石。

A fallen and buried tree becomes a candidate for fossilization when all conditions are right. 一根埋在土里的落木在条件完全合适的情况下就有可能石化。

a failure to change even after becoming old-fashioned

Fossilization has set in to our prison system and new initiatives are stifled. 僵化守旧的作风已经进入我们的监狱系统，新的举措被纷纷扼杀。

the fossilization of his outlook 他观点的僵化守旧

the process of an error (= mistake) becoming a habit so that a student often makes it and finds it difficult to change

Perhaps fossilization of errors is inevitable in second language acquisition. 也许在第二语言习得中，错误的石化是不可避免的。