sleeper terrorist

British

noun

a terrorist who is not currently active but assumes a guise in order to be in position, unsuspected, for future terrorist activities

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

As bombings force the Islamic State group underground, members may revert back to sleeper terrorist cells sending thousands of fighters, some with European or U.S. passports, seeping into Syrian communities and across borders.

From US News

All three Democratic contenders said the United States should be open to accepting Syrian refugees -- both Clinton and O'Malley used the number of 65,000 -- but they added that the refugees should be stringently vetted to make sure they are not slipping in to begin a sleeper terrorist cell.

From US News

"Homeland" may have lost its sleeper terrorist anti-hero Nicholas Brody to an Iranian gallows, but the hit U.S. television show will continue to thrill, its creator says.

From Reuters

He said the focus moved beyond the initial plan of how to deal with whether Brody was truly a sleeper terrorist, which the writers resolved halfway through the season.

From New York Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023