terror
Americannoun
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terrors
plural
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intense, sharp, overmastering fear.
to be frantic with terror.
- Synonyms:
- consternation, dismay, alarm
- Antonyms:
- calm
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an instance or cause of intense fear or anxiety; quality of causing terror.
to be a terror to evildoers.
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any period of frightful violence or bloodshed likened to the Reign of Terror in France.
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violence or threats of violence used for intimidation or coercion; terrorism.
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Informal. a person or thing that is especially annoying or unpleasant.
noun
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great fear, panic, or dread
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a person or thing that inspires great dread
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informal a troublesome person or thing, esp a child
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terrorism
Synonym Usage
Terror, horror, panic, fright all imply extreme fear in the presence of danger or evil. Terror implies an intense fear that is somewhat prolonged and may refer to imagined or future dangers: frozen with terror. Horror implies a sense of shock at a danger that is also evil, and the danger may be to others rather than to oneself: to recoil in horror. Panic and fright both imply a sudden shock of fear. Fright is usually of short duration: a spasm of fright. Panic is uncontrolled and unreasoning fear, often groundless, that may be prolonged: The mob was in a panic.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of terror
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin, equivalent to terrēre “to frighten” + -or -or 1; replacing Middle English terrour, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above
Explanation
Terror is the feeling of extreme fear. If you unexpectedly find someone dressed up as a vampire in your closet in the middle of a dark night, you might well experience feelings of terror. If you feel terror, you are frozen to the spot in fear. This is the goal of terrorists who use terror as a weapon — they create a climate of fear and mistrust so that people are afraid to go about their normal lives. You will recognize this use in the phrase “the war on terror.” You can also call a difficult or scary person, often a child who causes havoc, a terror or a holy terror.
Vocabulary lists containing terror
Uncanny, Creepy, or Downright Scary: Words For Halloween
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act II
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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
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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.
See Examples For:
There it unfolds—with graceful and terrible inevitability—into a mosaic of abandonment and love, fanaticism and terror.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Det Con Charlotte Couch, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We understand the immense fear this incident caused, with witnesses believing at the time this was an active act of terror."
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
I will never forget the confusion, and then the sheer terror, of that day.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Today we salute every member of the United States military who served in the 'War on Terror.' It is a war on sick, horrible terror," Trump said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
Somehow he had to mask his abject terror with a look of calm courage.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
This has been true for a very long time and remains true at a time of compounding terrors, crimes and disappointments.
From Salon ● May 14, 2026
Yes, we love a good rant about the terrors of technology from a comedy legend like Seinfeld, who got famous long before the advent of artificial intelligence and smartphones.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
They are experiencing terrors of modern warfare at sea that have become commonplace on land in Ukraine or the Middle East—such as the sight and menacing sound of Iranian drones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026
But somehow, I have managed to defy the odds, becoming the rare outlier to not only protect my job from the A.I. monster’s bite but profit from its terrors.
From Slate ● Mar. 20, 2026
To go down into the grave, unwashed, unforgiven, was to go down into the pit forever, where terrors awaited him greater than any the earth, for all her age and groaning, had ever borne.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
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.
