TERRORIST

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does terrorist mean? 

• TERRORIST (noun)
  The noun TERRORIST has 1 sense:

1. a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities

  Familiarity information: TERRORIST used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TERRORIST (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("terrorist" is a kind of...):

radical (a person who has radical ideas or opinions)

Domain category:

act of terrorism; terrorism; terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "terrorist"):

cyber-terrorist; cyberpunk (a programmer who breaks into computer systems in order to steal or change or destroy information as a form of cyber-terrorism)

Jacobin (a member of the radical movement that instituted the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution)

sleeper (a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a prearranged signal)

suicide bomber (a terrorist who blows himself up in order to kill or injure other people)

Instance hyponyms:

bin Laden; Osama bin Laden; Usama bin Laden (Arab terrorist who established al-Qaeda (born in 1957))

Jafar; Jafar Umar Thalib; Jaffar; Jaffar Umar Thalib (Indonesian terrorist and Islamic militant who commands the Laskar Jihad; uses violence to achieve political ends (1965-2000))

Andres Martinez; Carlos; Carlos the Jackal; Glen Gebhard; Hector Hevodidbon; Ilich Ramirez Sanchez; Ilich Sanchez; Michael Assat; Salim; Sanchez; Taurus (Venezuelan master terrorist raised by a Marxist-Leninist father; trained and worked with many terrorist groups (born in 1949))

Holonyms ("terrorist" is a member of...):

radical cell; terrorist cell (a cell of terrorists (usually 3 to 5 members))

Derivation:

terror (an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety)

terror (a person who inspires fear or dread)

terrorism (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

 Context examples 

They could also be planned, as in the case of a terrorist attack with a chemical weapon.

(Chemical Emergencies, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)