Definition of Terrorism
(noun) The premeditated use (or threat) of force or violence against civilian (nonmilitary) targets for political, religious, or ideological purposes.
Example of Terrorism
Types of Terrorism
- agroterrorism
- bioterrorism
- chemical terrorism
- cyberterrorism
- domestic terrorism
- ecoterrorism
- international terrorism
- narcoterrorism
- nuclear terrorism
- state-sponsored terrorism
- theoterrorism
Terrorism Pronunciation
Syllabification: ter·ror·ism
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /tAIR-uhr-riz-uhm/
- British English – /tE-ruh-ri-zuhm/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/
- British English – /ˈtɛrərɪz(ə)m/
Usage Notes
- Plural: terrorisms
- A terrorist commits an act of terrorism, terrorist act, or terrorist attack and belongs to a terrorist organization.
- Counterterrorism (counter-terrorism) attempts to prevent terrorism, often through counterintelligence (counter-intelligence).
- Critical terrorism studies (CTS) applies critical theory to the study of terrorism.
- A (noun) terrorist commits (adjective) terroristic acts (adverb) terroristically.
Additional Information
- Crime and Law Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Politics and Policy Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Terrorism Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “terrorism” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- authority
- coercion
- ecoterrorism
- ethnocentrism
- globalization
- government
- law
- politics
- power
- totalitarianism
Works Consulted
Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Brinkerhoff, David, Lynn White, Suzanne Ortega, and Rose Weitz. 2011. Essentials of Sociology. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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Kendall, Diana. 2011. Sociology in Our Times. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Kimmel, Michael S., and Amy Aronson. 2012. Sociology Now. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Macionis, John. 2012. Sociology. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson.
Macionis, John, and Kenneth Plummer. 2012. Sociology: A Global Introduction. 4th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Shepard, Jon M. 2010. Sociology. 11th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).
Cite the Definition of Terrorism
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “terrorism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved November 28, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/terrorism/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
terrorism. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/terrorism/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “terrorism.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed November 28, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/terrorism/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“terrorism.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 28 Nov. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/terrorism/>.