# terror

Pronunciation: US say "TER-ur" /ˈtɛɹ.ɚ/; say "TER-uh" UK /ˈtɛ.ɹə/, AUS /ˈte.ɹə/

## Noun

1. Intense dread, fright, or fear.
   - Simple: A very strong feeling of fear.
   - _Pure terror swept through the crowd as the bridge began to sway._
   - _He lay awake in terror, certain that someone was moving around downstairs._
2. Something or someone that causes intense fear.
   - Simple: A person or thing that makes people feel great fear.
   - _For ten years the pirate was the terror of the coastal towns._
   - _Drought remains a constant terror for farmers across the region._
3. The quality of causing dread; terribleness, especially as an element of narrative fiction.
   - Simple: The power of a story, place, or thing to fill people with deep fear.
   - _Shirley Jackson achieves terror through suggestion rather than explicit gore._
   - _Much of the film's terror comes from its long, empty hallway shots._
4. The use of violence and intimidation for political ends; terrorism.
   - Simple: The use of violence to frighten people for political reasons.
   - _The bombing was the deadliest act of terror in the nation's history._
   - _Intelligence agencies share data to disrupt terror financing networks._
5. An episode of intense fear arising abruptly from deep sleep, typically in children; a night terror.
   - Simple: A sudden episode of great fear that happens during deep sleep, mostly in young children.
   - _The pediatrician explained that a terror strikes during deep sleep and, unlike a nightmare, leaves no memory behind._
   - _His terrors faded once his bedtime routine became more consistent._

## Adjective

6. Of a teacher: extremely strict and notorious for failing most of the class. *(slang, Philippines)*
   - Simple: Very strict and quick to fail most students.
   - _Students trade warnings online about which professors are terror before enrollment opens._
   - _She survived a terror teacher in high school, so college exams don't scare her._

## Origin

This word came into late Middle English as "terrour," from Old French "terreur" (terror, fear, dread), from Latin "terror" (fright, fear). That came from "terrēre" (to frighten, terrify), and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root "*tre-" meaning "to shake" and "*tres-" meaning "to tremble."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/terror (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).