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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

terrorist terrorists

In 2025, the Onion ran a spoof headline imagining the State Department designating the league a terrorist organization.

From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026

Joseph Fransen, the study’s chief author, told the Commission that he took inspiration from the federal government’s 9/11 after-action report, which dissected mistakes leading up to the terrorist attack.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

Inman-Grant said her agency had begun inquiring what Telegram was doing to combat terrorist and extremist material in March 2024, and had endured "five very difficult months of unresponsiveness".

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

Matar's defense lawyers said he never acted on behalf of any terrorist organization, even if he was angry about the blasphemous nature of "The Satanic Verses."

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

“They’re probably going crazy overboard with security. I doubt Batavia is high on the terrorist target list.”

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Flock CEO Garrett Langley has accused some opponents of being "terrorists," stoking the fire.

From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Entebbe a decade ago where he said: "I learned from my brother that you need two things to defeat the terrorists: clarity and courage."

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to act "with full force against the terrorists and those who orchestrate and sponsor them".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

A. Dirk Moses, the journal’s senior editor since 2011, argues it is useless to distinguish intentional killing of civilians from collateral damage caused by strikes against terrorists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

“She’s using the transmitter we were supposed to find. I found it. Weeks ago. They said it was a network of terrorists, but it was just an old man and a girl.”

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• assassin
• bomber
• fanatic
• guerrilla
• gunman
• hijacker
• insurgent
• radical
• rebel
• revolutionary
• sniper
• zealot