terrorist

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noun

ter·​ror·​ist ˈter-ər-ist 

plural terrorists

: an advocate or practitioner of terrorism as a means of coercion

Opposition still runs high to the idea of releasing or bringing into U.S. prisons dozens of men widely considered dangerous terrorists even if many are not.

Less than three weeks before the Winter Olympics are set to begin in the Russian city of Sochi, police there have begun hunting for suspected terrorists allegedly plotting attacks.

—Time

terrorist

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adjective

: or, relating to, or characteristic of terrorists or terrorism : practicing or involving violent acts of terror

a terrorist organization

The consequences of the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 2001 will ramify for decades.

—Joe Klein

There is no margin for error when a real terrorist threat is present and the safety of the public, and the first responders, is in jeopardy.

—Gary J. Laughlin

Examples of terrorist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These personal histories are brilliantly distilled in his biopic of Japanese terrorist Satoshi Kirishima, who, as one of the country’s most wanted men, successfully evaded capture for nearly 50 years before revealing his true identity on his deathbed. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2025

Qatar is directing hundreds of millions of dollars into US academic institutions and think tanks, is the key funder of the global radical Islamist movement the Muslim Brotherhood, and a key sponsor of the Hamas terrorist movement in Gaza and the West Bank. —Ariel Cohen, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2025

Adjective

In retirement, Webster served on a presidential panel on homeland security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and was a member of a commission investigating security lapses at the FBI. —Douglass K. Daniel, Chicago Tribune, 8 Aug. 2025

Twenty-four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) on Thursday announced three new identifications of World Trade Center victims. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1794, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1795, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing terrorist

• anti-terrorist