TERRORISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does terrorise mean? 

• TERRORISE (verb)
  The verb TERRORISE has 2 senses:

1. coerce by violence or with threats

2. fill with terror; frighten greatly

  Familiarity information: TERRORISE used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TERRORISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they terrorise    ... he / she / it terrorises   
Past simple: terrorised   
Past participle: terrorised   
-ing form: terrorising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Coerce by violence or with threats

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

terrorise; terrorize

Hypernyms (to "terrorise" is one way to...):

coerce; force; hale; pressure; squeeze (to cause to do through pressure or necessity, by physical, moral or intellectual means)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

terror (an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety)

terrorisation (an act of terrorism)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fill with terror; frighten greatly

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

terrify; terrorise; terrorize

Hypernyms (to "terrorise" is one way to...):

affright; fright; frighten; scare (cause fear in)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "terrorise"):

panic (cause sudden fear in or fill with sudden panic)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

terror (an overwhelming feeling of fear and anxiety)

terrorisation (the act of inspiring with fear)

 Context examples 

This villain was able to terrorise him the instant that he got into his presence.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Its power was used for political purposes, principally for the terrorising of the negro voters and the murdering and driving from the country of those who were opposed to its views.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was confined to my room, terrorised by the most horrible threats, cruelly ill-used to break my spirit—see this stab on my shoulder and the bruises from end to end of my arms—and a gag was thrust into my mouth on the one occasion when I tried to call from the window.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)