‘Swindon magistrates heard they had waged a campaign of terror in the past six months, causing mayhem for shoppers and staff.’
‘Several documents reflected the terror of the late 1930s and are in the form of denunciations.’
‘You don't use weapons of terror on people you are intending to liberate.’
‘We are confronting the nexus between terror and weapons of mass destruction.’
‘The reasons for eliminating terror are clear, and speak to simple self-preservation.’
‘From the very outset all the combatants knew that the bomb would be both a weapon of destruction and a weapon of terror.’
‘Political repression and state terror have also been shown to result in significant psychological sequelae.’
‘Their goal is simply to cause terror without a justified reason.’
‘Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited.’
‘Their job was to secure public order through terror, intimidation and violence.’
‘Is the government complicit in this campaign of violence and terror?’
‘The many fundamental reasons that people resort to terror remain unaddressed’
‘They attacked free settlers and used terror to intimidate those opposed to slavery.’
‘Our best chance of marginalising those who deal in terror is to retain our humanity while responding to their inhumanity.’
‘The Prime Minister pledged to do all that was necessary to root out the criminal minority behind the campaign of terror.’
‘Elderly residents in a Maldon street have been driven to the brink of despair by yobs who they say have subjected them to a campaign of terror.’
‘There will no doubt be other successes which we can't know about yet because they are part of the ongoing campaign against terror.’
‘A schoolboy was today behind bars for subjecting a family to a campaign of terror and intimidation.’
‘An armed robber who waged a campaign of terror against businesses in Manchester has been jailed for life.’
‘A phoney secret agent and his wife are in custody awaiting sentence for their campaign of terror against a family.’
1.2often as modifierTerrorism.
‘a terror suspect’
‘a terror attack’
‘They were being manufactured for unlawful ends to wreak violence through terror.’
‘They are rejected by relatives who are reminded of the terrors committed by the Janjaweed every time they look at their small faces.’
‘The latest news from the terror front is hardly all grim.’
‘The war on terror is hard for many to swallow.’
‘Such a balance of terror is in fact the foundation for global nuclear security.’
‘To combat terror the government has focused extensively on domestic legislation.’
‘Deciding to hold it in a Red Sea resort that had just suffered a horrible terror attack was meant to send a powerful message.’
‘If a terrorist is leaving on a mission to carry out a terror attack, you prevent his arrival.’
‘The United States has taken the lead role in confronting tyranny and terror.’
‘It's a move that could help ease the political crisis in Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror.’
‘Failing to find popular support in many countries, particularly in Latin America and Asia, antigovernment forces went over to mass-scale terror.’
‘The terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in the US also provided the European governments with the pretext for a frontal assault on basic rights.’
‘That was a mistake, for though 21st century terror is like a criminal operation, it is also much more.’
‘He faces a tough few months, with rebellions likely on the European constitution as well as the terror laws before the crunch local elections in May.’
‘In a few nations (as a rule, those who remember themselves as victims rather than perpetrators of terror), the memorials and the debates are very prominent indeed.’
‘I mean, I would say, the first obligation is to really investigate have an independent investigation about what happened during this eight years of the so-called war against terror.’
‘I do think that we should have built the international coalition first, instead of distracting attention and shifting time, effort, and energy away from the war on terror.’
1.3in singularA person or thing that causes extreme fear.
‘his delivery is the terror of even world-class batsmen’
‘At nineteen, Jeremiah McAuley was a thief and the terror of the New York waterfront.’
‘Bumped into old East Londoner Peter Dyter - a second year who was the terror of Merriman new boys.’
‘They were the terrors of every 7 - Eleven parking lot, the most feared guests at every house party.’
1.4the TerrorThe period of the French Revolution between mid 1793 and July 1794 when the ruling Jacobin faction, dominated by Robespierre, ruthlessly executed anyone considered a threat to their regime.
‘Of course I'm concerned about getting it right, but it holds no terrors for me because I have played Lear, and Lear is the most difficult of all.’
‘A former high-class hurdler, Deep Water has always looked as though fences would hold no terrors for him.’
‘The open pan of the valley had no terrors for us in daylight.’
‘Other than minor episodes like this, nighttime holds no terrors for them.’
‘Giovanna's coloratura holds no terrors for her, and the assurance of her technique - every note is hit dead on - is matched only by her assured interpretation.’
‘Prokofiev's daunting cluster chords and rapid fire pianistic flourishes held no terrors for her.’
‘This gruelling three and a half miles will hold no terrors for Scotton Green, who gave notice that his winning turn was near at Catterick last month when he chased home Ballystone.’
‘So taking the Kildare job really held no terrors for Nolan?’
‘True, it's one of Verdi's most demanding tenor parts, but the notes obviously hold no terrors for Licitra.’
Origin
Late Middle English from Old French terrour, from Latin terror, from terrere ‘frighten’.
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