reign of terror

noun phrase

: a state or a period of time marked by violence often committed by those in power that produces widespread terror

Examples of reign of terror in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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That game is firmly Link’s adventure, with the princess sidelined to find a way back to her own era and help stop Ganondorf’s reign of terror. Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025 Hurricane Melissa's reign of terror over the Caribbean appears to be coming to an end. Gabe Hauari, USA Today, 31 Oct. 2025 Actor Donald Pleasence, who plays the psychiatrist intent on stopping Michael's reign of terror in five installments of the franchise, was paid the additional $20,000 for his five days of work on the project, but the veteran actor gave the low-budget affair a real sense of gravitas. Steven Thrash, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Oct. 2025 Throughout his reign of terror, mainly in the 1970s, he was known to have had at least 33 victims. Alex Gurley, PEOPLE, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for reign of terror

Word History

Etymology

Reign of Terror, a period of the French Revolution that was conspicuous for mass executions of political suspects

First Known Use

1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of reign of terror was in 1784

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Reign of terror.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reign%20of%20terror. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

reign of terror

: a period marked by violence that is often carried out by those in power and produces terror among the people involved

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