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
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.
“The U.A.E. holds Iran fully responsible for these terrorist attacks and their repercussions,” the Gulf state’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 29, 2026
These groups were on Thursday designated as terrorist organisations by the United States.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
In July 2025 it was proscribed as a terrorist group.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
"The era in which a terrorist group held an entire nation hostage is coming to an end."
From Barron's • May 24, 2026
Behind his innocent façade of a doctor without prestige there was hidden a terrorist who with his short-legged boots covered the scars that five years in the stocks had left on his legs.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
