terrorist

noun ter·ror·ist \ ˈter-ər-ist \

|Updated on: 5 Aug 2018

Definition of terrorist

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

See terrorist defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of terrorist from the Web

Such training is part of the Trump administration’s strategy to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists like the ones who carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

— jeremy redmon, ajc, "‘Apparent insider attack’ kills Georgia-based soldier in Afghanistan," 10 July 2018
This year, his administration put out another list of 600 people, including a UN Special Rapporteur, alleged to be communist terrorists.

— joseph hincks, Time, "Duterte is Assassinating Opponents Under the Cover of the Drug War, Philippine Rights Groups Say," 5 July 2018
Large, dense crowds are attractive targets for terrorists.

— allison barrie, Fox News, "Drone slayer: Polaris MRZR ATVs, Chevy trucks, armed with new anti-drone weapon," 29 May 2018
Prince William paid tribute to the 22 people who lost their lives last year when a terrorist bombed an Ariana Grande show at the Manchester Arena on May 22, 2017.

— dana rose falcone, PEOPLE.com, "Prince William Attends His First Event Since Royal Wedding to Mark Manchester Attack Anniversary," 22 May 2018
Curious reporters and angry vigilantes hounded his family, and a Facebook group dedicated to finding him was inundated with messages calling him a terrorist.

— jay willis, GQ, "Racist Lawyer Aaron Schlossberg Did This All to Himself," 19 May 2018
To be fair, other law enforcement officials in Texas had no qualms about calling a terrorist just that, but this reeks of déjà vu.

— michael arceneaux, Essence.com, "'He Was Kind And Quiet:' On Racism, Humanity And How White Terrorists Are Often Treated Better Than Their Victims," 23 Mar. 2018
Bill Camp, Tahar Rahim, Stuhlbarg and Tawfeek Barhom, as a terrorist on the run, also contribute mightily to the series’ success.

— david wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle, "Hulu’s ‘Tower’ probes walk-up to 9/11," 26 Feb. 2018
What if a terrorist unleashed a nerve agent in New York City subway cars, buses and taxis.

— allison barrie, Fox News, "Innovative project harnesses Legos and smartphones in the fight against invisible, deadly weapons," 13 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'terrorist.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of terrorist

1794

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

terrorist

adjective

Definition of terrorist

: 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

Recent Examples of terrorist from the Web

In the late 1960s, a faction of the revolutionary Irish Republican Army began a terrorist campaign against Britain’s governance of Northern Ireland.

— arthur i. cyr, Lake County News-Sun, "Cyr: Britain’s prime minister takes charge of cabinet," 13 July 2018
That the timing felt right to Thurber and Johnson for a film about a skyscraper under terrorist assault is itself noteworthy.

— jake coyle, Detroit Free Press, "Review: ‘Skyscraper’ delivers stunts, dumb summer fun," 12 July 2018
This documentary, which covers events in Saudi Arabia from 2003 to 2009, interweaves videos made by Al Qaeda members there with footage shot by Saudi security forces of raids on terrorist suspects’ safe houses.

— ben kenigsberg, New York Times, "Review: ‘Path of Blood’ Presents Terrorists’ Videos," 12 July 2018
The facility has housed such notable prisoners as former FBI agent and convicted spy Robert Hanssen and terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui.

— kevin johnson, USA TODAY, "Ex-Trump aide Paul Manafort arrives at Alexandria lockup; placed in protective custody," 12 July 2018
Zschaepe is the sole surviving member of a white supremacist terrorist cell that called itself the National Socialist Underground (NSU).

— alexander smith /, NBC News, "'Nazi bride' Beate Zschaepe guilty of far-right killings in Germany," 11 July 2018
Such training is part of the Trump administration’s strategy to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists like the ones who carried out the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

— jeremy redmon, ajc, "‘Apparent insider attack’ kills Georgia-based soldier in Afghanistan," 10 July 2018
The United States government has long reserved its power to revoke citizenship for the rarest of cases, going after the likes of war criminals, child rapists and terrorist funders.

— adiel kaplan, miamiherald, "Miami grandma targeted as U.S. takes aim at naturalized immigrants with prior offenses," 9 July 2018
Soon enough, user accounts were being deactivated for simply sharing a link to the Splinter story—the kind of escalation typically used to block the spread of terrorist propaganda.

— jessi hempel, WIRED, "Immigration Fight Shows Silicon Valley Must Stop Feigning Neutrality," 8 July 2018