terrorist
Americannoun
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a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.
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a person who terrorizes or frightens others.
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(formerly) a member of a political group in Russia aiming at the demoralization of the government by terror.
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an agent or partisan of the revolutionary tribunal during the Reign of Terror in France.
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of terrorist
First recorded in 1785–95; terror + -ist; compare French terroriste
Explanation
Someone who uses violence, mayhem, and destruction — or the threat of those things — to coerce people or countries into taking a certain action is a terrorist. A terrorist may be motivated by religious fervor, politics, or just plain old-fashioned greed. Terrorist has at its root the word "terror," which comes from the Latin word terrorem, meaning great fear. Great fear is exactly what terrorists hope to create so they can manipulate the situation to their benefit. The label terrorist is a subjective one. To the British, the American colonists who destroyed shiploads of tea in Boston Harbor in 1773 were terrorists. To colonists, they were patriots and heroes.
Vocabulary lists containing terrorist
President Obama's Speech to the Nation about Terrorism
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American Naturalization Test, List 3
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Fear and Loathing in Cleveland: Trump's RNC Acceptance Speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Prosecutors and police in Brazil are calling on President Trump to label the PCC a Foreign Terrorist Organization, joining more than a dozen other Latin criminal networks.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
"Terrorist attacks have a specific definition and the suspect does not meet that definition," he added.
From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025
The State Department’s Foreign Terrorist Organization list applies only to groups outside of the United States.
From Salon • Sep. 20, 2025
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center on March 26.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 11, 2025
Terrorist acts lie beyond our control; french fries do not.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
