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

The administration deemed her a domestic terrorist. —Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026

Noem accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist and brandishing a weapon before he was shot, a claim disputed by bystander footage of the incident. —David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 26 Jan. 2026

Adjective

In the face of such widespread public revulsion, the administration and its enablers have been trying to invent a terrorist threat to justify their increasingly unpopular siege of Minneapolis. —Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 20 Jan. 2026

The violence has been linked to major criminal gangs such as Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), both labeled as terrorist organizations by Guatemala and the United States, according to AP. —Ashley J. Dimella, FOXNews.com, 20 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1794, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1795, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing terrorist

• anti-terrorist