reign of terror
noun, proper noun
Forms reigns of terror the Reign of Terror
- noun (politics) A brutal period of political violence and intimidation in the wake of a popular revolution.
- noun (by extension) A period defined by tyranny and violation of rights without accountability for the party responsible.
- proper noun The period of the French Revolution between 1793 and 1794, marked by political violence, including massacres and public executions by guillotine of over a thousand French citizens accused of bearing reactionary sentiments or treason against the French First Republic.
Etymology
From the Reign of Terror that took place during the French Revolution.
Named for the violence of the period, when thousands or people were massacred or executed through the guillotine by the Committee of Public Safety under Maximilien Robespierre.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “reign of terror”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details