intense, sharp, overmastering fear: to be frantic with terror.
an instance or cause of intense fear or anxiety; quality of causing terror: to be a terror to evildoers.
any period of frightful violence or bloodshed likened to the Reign of Terror in France.
violence or threats of violence used for intimidation or coercion; terrorism.
Informal. a person or thing that is especially annoying or unpleasant.
Origin of terror
First recorded in 1325–75; from Latin, equivalent to terrēre “to frighten” + -or-or1; replacing Middle English terrour, from Anglo-French, from Latin, as above
SYNONYMS FOR terror
1 alarm, dismay, consternation.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR terror ON THESAURUS.COM
ANTONYMS FOR terror
1 calm.
SEE ANTONYMS FOR terror ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for terror
1. Terror,horror,panic,fright all imply extreme fear in the presence of danger or evil. Terror implies an intense fear that is somewhat prolonged and may refer to imagined or future dangers: frozen with terror.Horror implies a sense of shock at a danger that is also evil, and the danger may be to others rather than to oneself: to recoil in horror.Panic and fright both imply a sudden shock of fear. Fright is usually of short duration: a spasm of fright.Panic is uncontrolled and unreasoning fear, often groundless, that may be prolonged: The mob was in a panic.
When asked if the terror plot had an impact on the company’s recent spate of surprising policy changes, Facebook did not provide a direct response.
Militia tied to plot to kidnap Gov. Whitmer was removed from Facebook in boogaloo purge|Taylor Hatmaker|October 8, 2020|TechCrunch
On the other hand, the levels of fear are increasing due to the social effects and the messages of terror that this type of violence instills in the entire community.
Transgender woman’s death shocks Colombia|Yariel Valdés González|October 2, 2020|Washington Blade
I tried to determine the relationship between politicians using hate speech and the number of domestic terror attacks the country experienced the following year.
When Politicians Use Hate Speech, Political Violence Increases|LGBTQ-Editor|September 29, 2020|No Straight News
It’s been almost three months since an independent group of United Nations experts called on the US government to conduct an independent investigation into racial terror.
How an overload of riot porn is driving conflict in the streets|Bobbie Johnson|September 3, 2020|MIT Technology Review
Deep cultural memory entangles wolves and wilderness in all their terror and majesty.
How Yellowstone wolves got their own Ancestry.com page|Susan Milius|July 21, 2020|Science News
And that is an awful lot less bloody than what happened during the Reign of Terror.
Napoleon Was a Dynamite Dictator|J.P. O’Malley|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Sputnik shapes seem like a nod to Cold War surveillance morphing into Age of Terror surveillance.
Art in the Age of National Security|Terry Greene Sterling|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet his liberal voice was too often silenced on War on Terror issues.
Eric Holder’s Legacy: Bold on Equality, Less So on Civil Liberties|Geoffrey R. Stone|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Oddly enough, it was initially conceived as a weapon for the Global War on Terror.
Death at Five Times the Speed of Sound|Kyle Mizokami|June 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
World War II had its parades; Vietnam had its protests; and the War on Terror?
Divided in the Wake of Fort Hood|Thomas Gibbons-Neff|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This breach we called Tucker's Terror, upon his exprest fear.
Great Epochs in American History, Vol. II|Various
Terror and the cold beef combined, strong ale and intense alarm, prevent them from stirring.
George Cruikshank's Omnibus|George Cruikshank
But it was only at night that Terror crept from its cupboard and leapt on to Peter's shoulders.
Fortitude|Hugh Walpole
Ben was thinking of the old man—he must have been quite young then—who was in prison through that awful Reign of Terror.
A Little Girl in Old New York|Amanda Millie Douglas
In 1793, the Reign of Terror coincided exactly with the season of public danger.
Lectures on the French Revolution|John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton
British Dictionary definitions for terror
terror
/ (ˈtɛrə) /
noun
great fear, panic, or dread
a person or thing that inspires great dread
informala troublesome person or thing, esp a child
terrorism
Derived forms of terror
terrorful, adjectiveterrorless, adjective
Word Origin for terror
C14: from Old French terreur, from Latin terror, from terrēre to frighten; related to Greek trein to run away in terror