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terrorism

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

Terrorism Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: ter·ror·ism

Audio Pronunciation

– American English
– British English

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

Related Terms

Works Consulted

Andersen, Margaret L., and Howard Francis Taylor. 2011. Sociology: The Essentials. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

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Delaney, Tim, and Tim Madigan. 2015. The Sociology of Sports: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

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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.

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Thompson, William E., and Joseph V. Hickey. 2012. Society in Focus: An Introduction to Sociology. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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/>.