Synonyms
Examples of terrorize in a Sentence
As a child she terrorized her younger siblings.
She was terrorized by nightmares.
Employees were terrorized into accepting abysmal working conditions.
Recent Examples on the Web
The night of the murders, June 12, 1994, terrorizing her was his plan.
—
Judith Regan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
Com said that charges against Patel include 10 counts of threatening with the intent to terrorize a public official: five City Council members, the mayor, the city clerk, the assistant city clerk, the city attorney and the city manager.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Suspected seafaring bandits terrorizing San Francisco Bay residents are now landlocked in jail cells.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 2 Apr. 2024
Putting criminals away to keep them from terrorizing law-abiding citizens and preventing inmates from engaging in criminal activity from prison are critical to addressing the region’s violent crime epidemic, and therefore giving people freedom to go about their lives without fear of victimization.
—Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
The trailer shows Keaton terrorizing a frightened looking townsperson who keeps insisting the ghost in front of him is an illusion.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
In 1989, Charles Stuart claimed that a Black man had shot him and his pregnant wife, Carol, spurring a racist manhunt that terrorized and ensnared innocent people.
—Longreads, 22 Mar. 2024
Experts said these videos are likely part of propaganda campaigns designed to scare rivals and terrorize local Haitians rather than a reflection of common or normalized behavior.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
The gangs terrorized the population with systematic rape, indiscriminate kidnapping and mass killing, all with impunity.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
Judith Regan, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
Com said that charges against Patel include 10 counts of threatening with the intent to terrorize a public official: five City Council members, the mayor, the city clerk, the assistant city clerk, the city attorney and the city manager.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Suspected seafaring bandits terrorizing San Francisco Bay residents are now landlocked in jail cells.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 2 Apr. 2024
Putting criminals away to keep them from terrorizing law-abiding citizens and preventing inmates from engaging in criminal activity from prison are critical to addressing the region’s violent crime epidemic, and therefore giving people freedom to go about their lives without fear of victimization.
—Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024
The trailer shows Keaton terrorizing a frightened looking townsperson who keeps insisting the ghost in front of him is an illusion.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
In 1989, Charles Stuart claimed that a Black man had shot him and his pregnant wife, Carol, spurring a racist manhunt that terrorized and ensnared innocent people.
—Longreads, 22 Mar. 2024
Experts said these videos are likely part of propaganda campaigns designed to scare rivals and terrorize local Haitians rather than a reflection of common or normalized behavior.
—David Ingram, NBC News, 13 Mar. 2024
The gangs terrorized the population with systematic rape, indiscriminate kidnapping and mass killing, all with impunity.
—Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'terrorize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near terrorize
Cite this Entry
“Terrorize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorize. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
terrorize
verb
ter·ror·ize
ˈter-ər-ˌīz 
terrorized; terrorizing
1
: to fill with terror
2
: to force by threat or violence
Legal Definition
terrorize
transitive verb
ter·ror·ize
ˈter-ər-ˌīz
terrorized; terrorizing
: to inflict terror upon
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