terrorism

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terrorism

  • /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/

Where it comes from

From French terrorisme, from terreur + -isme. By surface analysis, terror + -ism.

The word first appears in English in 1795 in reference to the Jacobin radicals of France, who ruled during the Reign of Terror.

noun terrorisms

  1. historical, uncountable, usually The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94. In England I was proscribed for having vindicated the French Revolution, and I have suffered a rigorous imprisonment in France for having pursued a similar mode of conduct. During the reign of terrorism, I was a close prisoner for eight long months, and remained so above three months after the era o
  2. uncountable, usually The use of unlawful violence against people or property to achieve political objectives. The threat of terrorism to the British lies in the overreaction to it of British governments. Each one in turn clicks up the ratchet of surveillance, intrusion and security. Each one diminishes liberty. David Cameron insists that his latest communications data bill is "vital to counter terrorism". Y
  3. broadly, uncountable, usually The use of intimidation or bullying tactics. We at the GCN Prisoner Project often get letters from prisoners who are being harassed (above and beyond the usual terrorism of the prison business) because of their being queer.
  4. Internet, deliberate, humorous, misspelling, uncountable, usually Deliberate misspelling of tourism

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: counter-terrorism, antiterrorist, antiterrorism, counter-terrorist, counterterrorism, extremism, phenomenon, scourge, intimidation, horror, terror, fear, ctc, anti-terrorist, terrorisme, terrorists

Translations

Every language

noun use of terror as a means of coercion

Españolterrorismo
한국어테러리즘 tereorijeum, 테러 tereo, 공포주의 gongpojuui
日本語テロリズム terorizumu, テロ tero
中文恐怖主義 /恐怖主义 kǒngbùzhǔyì
हिन्दीआतंकवाद ātaṅkvād, दहशतगर्दी dahśatgardī, दहशतंगेज़ dahaśtaṅgez
Kiswahiliugaidi
Portuguêsterrorismo
Françaisterrorisme
DeutschTerrorismus
Italianoterrorismo
Ελληνικάτρομοκρατία tromokratía
Românăterorism
Русскийтеррори́зм terrorízm, тера́кт terákt, терро́р terrór
Tiếng Việtkhủng bố, chính sách khủng bố, chủ nghĩa khủng bố
العربيةإِرْهَاب ʔirhāb
עבריתטֶרוֹר téror, טֶרוֹרִיזְם terorizm

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MLA

"terrorism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/terrorism. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

terrorism. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/terrorism

Chicago

"terrorism." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/terrorism.

BibTeX
@misc{terrorism_2026,
  title = {terrorism},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/terrorism},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}