terrorist

American  

[ter-er-ist] / ˈtɛr ər ɪst /

noun

• terrorists
  plural

1. a person, usually a member of a group, who uses or advocates terrorism.

2. a person who terrorizes or frightens others.

3. (formerly) a member of a political group in Russia aiming at the demoralization of the government by terror.

4. an agent or partisan of the revolutionary tribunal during the Reign of Terror in France.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of terrorism or terrorists.

   terrorist tactics.

terrorist British  

/ ˈtɛrərɪst /

noun

1. 1. a person who employs terror or terrorism, esp as a political weapon

   2. ( as modifier )

      terrorist tactics

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• terroristic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• terrorists
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of terrorist

First recorded in 1785–95; terror + -ist; compare French terroriste

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

terrorist terrorists

The circumstances surrounding the release of “Toxicity” became even more surreal one week later, when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the country and altered the way some listeners interpreted the album.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

A 22-year-old British national has been arrested on suspicion of preparation of terrorist acts in connection with an incident close to RAF Fairford, counter-terror police said.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

On top of that, air regulations have been repeatedly tightened following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. and the Germanwings Flight 9525 intentional crash in the French Alps.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Opher Dubrovsky, who works in tech at Amazon.com, said some passengers worried that crew members might have been involved in what they suspected was a terrorist attack.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

It was then that I remembered my aunt Angie, and that my father was telling anyone who would listen that she had put his name on a terrorist watch list.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

"All of a sudden, you see on the news the five suspected terrorists have been released," the husband said.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

"I am afraid of terrorists here," said Shahid Sofi, a 24-year-old mason from Bihar who previously worked in Delhi and Mumbai.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

Most of the blame for that lies at the feet of the 9/11 terrorists and those who supported and financed them.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

What the officials told the world to do was to come shop” and support lower Manhattan to show the terrorists that the city — and America — had resolve.

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

On the morning the terrorists struck the Twin Towers in New York, I was in the eleventh grade.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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