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
- terroristic adjective
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.
Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan spiraled following the discovery that Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was living in a Pakistani town.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The IDF has not answered the BBC's questions about why it accused him of being a "terrorist".
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Police believe he was working alone and not with an overseas terrorist group or foreign government.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Fulop quit his job as a Goldman Sachs trader to join the Marines and deploy to Iraq.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026
“Other attacks on American soil were by nations; this is the first transnational terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.”
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
