as in to frighten
to strike with fear
thunderstorms terrorize our cats, who all scamper downstairs when lightning flashes
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Recent Examples of terrorize
But Cindy's Halloween Reboot Backwoods Paranoia, and Brenda's louche, party-forward approach to parenting haven't exactly set the next generation up to respond well when the Ghostface killer from the flagship returns to terrorize Cindy's youngest, Tuesday (wink).
—
Entertainment Weekly, 2 June 2026
Yet for critics of this militarized approach, the army has done less to tame rebellions than to terrorize the island’s peasant communities.
—Patrick Peralta, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
As the story goes, in the 17th century the dragon nightly terrorized Palma, devouring residents until sword-wielding knight Bartomeu Coch slew it, named it and gifted the dead monster to his fiancée, Na Coca Rossello.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
The scene recalled the gruesome rampages of the RSF’s forebears, the janjaweed militias who terrorized Sudan’s Darfur region a generation ago.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrorize
Entertainment Weekly, 2 June 2026
Yet for critics of this militarized approach, the army has done less to tame rebellions than to terrorize the island’s peasant communities.
—Patrick Peralta, The Conversation, 28 May 2026
As the story goes, in the 17th century the dragon nightly terrorized Palma, devouring residents until sword-wielding knight Bartomeu Coch slew it, named it and gifted the dead monster to his fiancée, Na Coca Rossello.
—Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 27 May 2026
The scene recalled the gruesome rampages of the RSF’s forebears, the janjaweed militias who terrorized Sudan’s Darfur region a generation ago.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for terrorize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrorize
Verb
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What frightens scientists more than the sheer numbers are that the cuts are arbitrary and manifestly pernicious.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
11 June 2026
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Dolma told me that when the wind turbines were being built, their noise frightened her livestock and carried across the valley, disturbing neighbors during windy times.—
Sanggay Tashi,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
Verb
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Late one night, with the neighbors’ dogs loose once again, Courtney Guarnieri fired shots into the darkness to scare them away.—
Thomas Lake,
AJC.com,
12 June 2026
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The scientists only got a passing glimpse of the goblin shark before the lights and loud noise from the ROV's motor scared it away, Auscavitch told ABC News.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
12 June 2026
Verb
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The comedian was terrified after being fired from NewsRadio.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
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And there are a lot of things to be very rightly and understandably terrified of right now, and uncertainty about what's to come.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
Verb
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The combination of flashing light and movement startles them.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
11 June 2026
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Her voice startled me, both rough and smooth—like a bottle of whiskey set in front of a princess.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Terrorize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrorize. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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