terror
UK /ˈtɛɹə/ · US /ˈtɛɹɚ/ noun, adjective, proper noun
Forms terrors terrour
- noun (countable, uncountable) Intense dread, fright, or fear.
- noun (uncountable) The action or quality of causing dread; terribleness, especially such qualities in narrative fiction.
- noun (countable) Something or someone that causes such fear.
- noun (uncountable) Terrorism. “a terror attack”
- noun (pathology, countable) A night terror.
- adjective (Philippines, slang) A strict teacher who fails most of the students. “I have a terror math teacher.”
- proper noun (politics, history, usually with the) The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.
- proper noun (politics, history, usually with the) Any specific one of several historical reigns of terror.
Synonyms
fear afraidness horror panic affright scourge threat brat little terror holy terror
Etymology
From late Middle English terrour, from Old French terreur f (“terror, fear, dread”), from Latin terror (“fright, fear, terror”), from terrēre (“to frighten, terrify”), from Old Latin tr̥reō, from Proto-Italic *trozeō, from Proto-Indo-European *tre- (“to shake”), *tres- (“to tremble”).
Proper noun form of terror. Translation of French Terreur, as coined by the Thermidorian Reaction
Webster’s 1913
- noun Extreme fear; fear that agitates body and mind; violent dread; fright.
- noun That which excites dread; a cause of extreme fear.
Etymology [L. terror, akin to terrere to frighten, for tersere; akin to Gr. tras to tremble, to be afraid, Russ. triasti to shake: cf. F. terreur. Cf. Deter.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “terror”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details