ter ‧ ror W3 /ˈterə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: terreur , from Latin terror , from terrere ; ⇨ ↑ terrible ]
1 . FEAR [uncountable] a feeling of extreme fear
in terror
People fled in terror as fire tore through the building.
Shots rang out, and I screamed in terror.
We lived in terror of our father when he was drinking.
There was a look of sheer terror (=complete terror) on his face.
strike terror into somebody/sb’s heart
The sound of enemy planes struck terror into our hearts.
2 . FRIGHTENING SITUATION [countable] an event or situation that makes people feel extremely frightened, especially because they think they may die
terror of
the terrors of war
Death holds no terrors for (=does not frighten) me.
3 . VIOLENT ACTION [uncountable] violent action for political purposes SYN terrorism :
The resistance movement started a campaign of terror.
The Red Army Faction tried to undermine the state by terror tactics.
Pol Pot’s reign of terror in Cambodia
4 . PERSON [countable] informal a child who is difficult to control:
That Johnson kid’s a real little terror!
⇨ reign of terror at ↑ reign 1 (4), ⇨ a holy terror at ↑ holy (4)
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ sheer/pure terror (=complete and total terror)
The horse galloped off in sheer terror down the path.
▪ absolute/stark terror (=extreme terror)
On his face was an expression of absolute terror.
▪ mortal terror literary (=very great terror)
The crew was in mortal terror of drowning.
■ phrases
▪ strike terror into sb’s heart
His fearsome appearance strikes terror into the hearts of his enemies.
▪ flee in terror
The children fled in terror as the barn caught fire.
▪ scream/shriek in terror
She jumped to her feet, screaming in terror.
▪ live in terror
Everyone lived in terror of the religious police.
■ verbs
▪ inspire terror
The main aim of suicide bombers is to inspire terror in the population.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ fear a feeling of being frightened:
He was trembling with fear.
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Fear of failure should not stop you trying.
▪ terror a feeling of great fear, because you think that something terrible is about to happen:
She let out a scream of pure terror.
▪ fright a sudden feeling of fear, or a situation that makes you feel this:
My body was shaking with fright.
|
You gave me a fright!
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He’s had a bit of fright, that’s all.
▪ panic a sudden feeling of fear or nervousness that makes you unable to think clearly or behave sensibly:
She was in such a panic that she hardly knew what she was doing!
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There were scenes of sheer panic immediately following the bomb blast.
▪ alarm a feeling of fear or worry which shows in your voice or behaviour, because you think something bad might happen:
When I mentioned her name, he looked up at me in alarm.
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The streets were calm and there was no sign of alarm.
▪ foreboding /fɔːˈbəʊdɪŋ $ fɔːrˈboʊ-/ a feeling that something bad or unpleasant might happen although there is no obvious reason why it should:
She felt the same sense of foreboding she had before her father died.
▪ phobia /ˈfəʊbiə $ ˈfoʊ-/ a permanent strong unreasonable fear of something:
I had a phobia about going to the dentist.