terrorist

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noun

ter·​ror·​ist ˈter-ər-ist 

plural terrorists

: an advocate or practitioner of terrorism as a means of coercion

Opposition still runs high to the idea of releasing or bringing into U.S. prisons dozens of men widely considered dangerous terrorists even if many are not.

Less than three weeks before the Winter Olympics are set to begin in the Russian city of Sochi, police there have begun hunting for suspected terrorists allegedly plotting attacks.

—Time

terrorist

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adjective

: or, relating to, or characteristic of terrorists or terrorism : practicing or involving violent acts of terror

a terrorist organization

The consequences of the U.S. response to the terrorist attacks of September 2001 will ramify for decades.

—Joe Klein

There is no margin for error when a real terrorist threat is present and the safety of the public, and the first responders, is in jeopardy.

—Gary J. Laughlin

Examples of terrorist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The terrorist accused of plotting the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. military members and 160 civilians amid the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan landed on American soil Wednesday. —Louis Casiano, Fox News, 6 Mar. 2025

Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. —CBS News, 5 Mar. 2025

Adjective

President Trump has designated eight Latin American drug trafficking organizations as terrorist organizations, including the Jalisco cartel, which emerged in 2010. —CBS News, 7 Mar. 2025

Advocates warn that being listed as a terrorist state by the U.S. may stifle humanitarian aid from other sources, which 80 percent of the population are critically in need of. —Juwayriah Wright, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1794, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1795, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing terrorist

• anti-terrorist