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State-sponsored terrorism

Definition of State-sponsored Terrorism

(noun) An act of terrorism by a State against its own people or to aid in international terrorism.

Examples of State-sponsored Terrorism

State-sponsored Terrorism Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: state spon·sor·ed ter·ror·ism

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

Phonetic Spelling

  • American English – /stAYt-spAHn-suhrd tAIR-uhr-riz-uhm/
  • British English – /stayt-spOn-suhd tE-ruh-ri-zuhm/

International Phonetic Alphabet

  • American English – /steɪt-ˈspɑnsərd ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/
  • British English – /steɪt-ˈspɒnsəd ˈtɛrərɪzm/

Usage Notes

  • Plural: state-sponsored terrorisms
  • The term “State” does not have to be capitalized, but typically is in legal documents and is capitalized here for differentiation.
  • Variant spelling: state sponsored terrorism
  • A (noun) state-sponsored terrorist commits (adjectivestate-sponsored terroristic acts (adverbstate-sponsored terroristically to create a (nounstate-sponsored terror.

Additional Information

Related Terms


Cite the Definition of State-sponsored Terrorism

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “State-sponsored terrorism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/state-sponsored-terrorism/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

State-sponsored terrorism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/state-sponsored-terrorism/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “State-sponsored terrorism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/state-sponsored-terrorism/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“State-sponsored terrorism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/state-sponsored-terrorism/>.