terror
7 dictionary results for: terror
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ter·ror 
[ter-er] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[ter-er] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | intense, sharp, overmastering fear: to be frantic with terror. |
| 2. | an instance or cause of intense fear or anxiety; quality of causing terror: to be a terror to evildoers. |
| 3. | any period of frightful violence or bloodshed likened to the Reign of Terror in France. |
| 4. | violence or threats of violence used for intimidation or coercion; terrorism. |
| 5. | Informal. a person or thing that is especially annoying or unpleasant. |
[Origin: 1325–75; < L, equiv. to terr(ére) to frighten + -or -or1; r. ME terrour < AF < L, as above]
] —Related forms
ter·ror·ful, adjective
ter·ror·less, adjective
—Synonyms 1. alarm, dismay, consternation. Terror, horror, panic, fright all imply extreme fear in the presence of danger or evil. Terror implies an intense fear that is somewhat prolonged and may refer to imagined or future dangers: frozen with terror. Horror implies a sense of shock at a danger that is also evil, and the danger may be to others rather than to oneself: to recoil in horror. Panic and fright both imply a sudden shock of fear. Fright is usually of short duration: a spasm of fright. Panic is uncontrolled and unreasoning fear, often groundless, that may be prolonged: The mob was in a panic.
—Antonyms 1. calm.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| ter·ror
(těr'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Middle English terrour, from Old French terreur, from Latin terror, from terrēre, to frighten.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
terror
terror
c.1375 "great fear," from O.Fr. terreur (14c.), from L. terrorem (nom. terror) "great fear, dread," from terrere "fill with fear, frighten," from PIE base *tre- "shake" (see terrible). Meaning "quality of causing dread" is attested from 1528; terror bombing first recorded 1941, with ref. to German air attack on Rotterdam. Sense of "a person fancied as a source of terror" (often with deliberate exaggeration, as of a naughty child) is recorded from 1883. The Reign of Terror in Fr. history (March 1793-July 1794) so called in Eng. from 1801. An O.E. word for "terror" was broga, also egesa.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| terror | |
noun | |
| 1. | an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety [syn: panic] |
| 2. | a person who inspires fear or dread; "he was the terror of the neighborhood" |
| 3. | a very troublesome child |
| 4. | the use of extreme fear in order to coerce people (especially for political reasons); "he used terror to make them confess" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: ter·ror
Function: noun
: an intense fear of physical injury or deathterror by forced entry or unlawful assembly>; also : the infliction of such fear terror>
Main Entry: ter·ror
Function: noun
: an intense fear of physical injury or death
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Terror
Ter"ror\, n. [L. terror, akin to terrere to frighten, for tersere; akin to Gr. ? to flee away, dread, Skr. tras to tremble, to be afraid, Russ. triasti to shake: cf. F. terreur. Cf. Deter.]1. Extreme fear; fear that agitates body and mind; violent dread; fright. Terror seized the rebel host. --Milton. 2. That which excites dread; a cause of extreme fear. Those enormous terrors of the Nile. --Prior. Rulers are not a terror to good works. --Rom. xiii. 3. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats. --Shak. Note: Terror is used in the formation of compounds which are generally self-explaining: as, terror-fraught, terror-giving, terror-smitten, terror-stricken, terror-struck, and the like. King of terrors, death. --Job xviii. 14. Reign of Terror. (F. Hist.) See in Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction. Syn: Alarm; fright; consternation; dread; dismay. See Alarm.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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