terrorize
Americanverb (used with object)
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to fill or overcome with terror.
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to dominate or coerce by intimidation.
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to produce widespread fear by acts of violence, as bombings.
verb
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to coerce or control by violence, fear, threats, etc
-
to inspire with dread; terrify
Related Words
See frighten.
Other Word Forms
- terrorization noun
- terrorizer noun
- unterrorized adjective
Etymology
Origin of terrorize
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.
“We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized,” he said.
From Salon
“It’s really terrifying to see our neighbors terrorized in this way.”
Videos abound of Roombas terrorizing pets, making epic messes and going AWOL.
Like so many of us, Good could have stayed tucked safely away in her house, looking the other way while a bunch of hastily hired wannabe warriors terrorized her neighbors.
From Salon
“The communities that are being terrorized don’t have the time for legislative bodies to be waiting around,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
