French word

terrorisme

Pronunciation

IPA/tɛʁoʁizm/

Meaning

  • masculine nounterrorism

Example

Le terrorisme fait peur à tout le monde.

Terrorism scares everyone.

Illustration for terrorisme (terrorism)

More examples

La lutte contre le terrorisme nécessite une coopération internationale.

The fight against terrorism requires international cooperation.

Core concept

An organized use of violence or threats that spreads fear and applies pressure to a society or government.

Common phrases

  • la lutte contre le terrorisme

    the fight against terrorism

  • les victimes du terrorisme

    victims of terrorism

  • le terrorisme international

    international terrorism

Similar words

attentat: An isolated violent attack, such as a bombing, aimed at a person or place.
attaque: An act of attacking a person or facility with force or weapons.
menace: Words or behavior threatening harm and causing fear or unease.
violence: Acts that cause physical or psychological harm to others.

Definition in French

Recours systématique à la terreur par des actes violents ou des menaces visant à influencer une société, un État ou des politiques publiques.

Word origin

French terrorisme combines terreur with the suffix -isme, while terreur comes from Latin terror meaning fear; the word first referred to a system of terror and later to political violence.

Usage tips

  • Terrorisme is a masculine abstract noun, so standard usage is le terrorisme and not la terrorisme.

Other meanings

  • act of terrorismnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word