terror

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   Very strong fear.

   She froze in terror as the dog ran towards her.

2. 2
   noun

   The use of extreme violence and fear to force people to do something, especially for political reasons.

   The group used terror to silence anyone who opposed them.

3. 3
   noun

   A person, especially a child, who causes a lot of trouble.

   Their youngest son is a real terror at parties.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *tres- Proto-Indo-European *-yeti Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti Proto-Indo-European *troséyeti Proto-Italic *trozeō Latin terreō Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-s Proto-Indo-European *-ōs Proto-Italic *-ōs Latin -or Latin terrorbor. Old French terreur Middle French terreurbor. Middle English terrour English terror From late Middle English terrour, from Old French terreur f (“terror, fear, dread”), from Latin terror m (“fright, fear, terror”), from terrēre (“to frighten, terrify”), from Old Latin tr̥reō, from Proto-Italic *trozeō, from Proto-Indo-…

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