as in to frighten
to strike with fear
thunderstorms terrorize our cats, who all scamper downstairs when lightning flashes
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of terrorize
Written and directed by Worley, Sketch stars Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, Bianca Belle and Kue Lawrence in the story of a single dad who is swept up in an insane adventure when his daughter’s comically dark drawings come to life and terrorize their small town.
—
Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
As The Athletic details, Cornett has been harassed and terrorized, and her privacy repeatedly invaded, over the last five weeks.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Apr. 2025
After being released in 2021, Reed came back with a vengeance and terrorized the main roster with moves most big men wouldn't even attempt.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
The woman played dead as gunmen terrorized, robbed, and killed her Alawite kin in their village in western Syria.
—Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrorize
Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 2 Apr. 2025
As The Athletic details, Cornett has been harassed and terrorized, and her privacy repeatedly invaded, over the last five weeks.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 2 Apr. 2025
After being released in 2021, Reed came back with a vengeance and terrorized the main roster with moves most big men wouldn't even attempt.
—Jason D. Greenblatt, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Apr. 2025
The woman played dead as gunmen terrorized, robbed, and killed her Alawite kin in their village in western Syria.
—Dominique Soguel, Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrorize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrorize
Verb
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An American Airlines flight was forced to turn back around after a disruptive passenger began to frighten other passengers on the way from New York to Milan on Tuesday, April 8, the airline said.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
10 Apr. 2025
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This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.—
Zameena Mejia,
Refinery29,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As part of their efforts, the duo are trained to simply scare the animals off and run five to seven miles daily, rain or shine.—
Brenton Blanchet,
People.com,
5 Apr. 2025
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Ant scare Anthony Edwards finished with a team-high 28 points on an efficient 10-for-15 shooting from the field.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Robbins’ parents were terrified that the school was using the laptop to spy on their son and other students (including their daughter Paige).—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
8 Apr. 2025
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The thought of dying without finding out what happened to her son terrifies Petrone.—
Faith Karimi,
CNN Money,
6 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In a now-viral video from Stacy Goss, the family was startled by the sight of a huge bald eagle gawking at them, but more concerningly, at their dog Gnocchi.—
Rachel Raposas,
People.com,
11 Apr. 2025
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Area residents might remember similar sights of helicopters in 2023, when the sounds of gunfire and explosions from military training startled some in the Kansas City metro.—
Kendrick Calfee,
Kansas City Star,
9 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Terrorize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrorize. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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