as in to frighten
to strike with fear
thunderstorms terrorize our cats, who all scamper downstairs when lightning flashes
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Recent Examples of terrorize
Written and directed by Damien Leone and starring David Howard Thornton as Art the Clown, Terrifier 3 has been terrorizing audiences since the beginning of October.
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Tim Lammers, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
There are films where the horror is represented by society itself, terrorizing an individual — as seen in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Living Dead, Rosemary’s Baby, Carrie, Get Out and Midsommar.
—David Colman, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2024
In the film, three young women separated by decades and thousands of miles are terrorized by the same ethereal threat that nobody, not even them, can properly see.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024
Hugely powerful glide bombs that have terrorized civilian areas of Ukraine and bludgeoned Ukrainian army defenses were also kept at the arsenal, located 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and some of the ammunition was stored in the open, Ukraine said.
—Morgan Phillips, Fox News, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrorize 
Tim Lammers, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
There are films where the horror is represented by society itself, terrorizing an individual — as seen in Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Night of the Living Dead, Rosemary’s Baby, Carrie, Get Out and Midsommar.
—David Colman, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2024
In the film, three young women separated by decades and thousands of miles are terrorized by the same ethereal threat that nobody, not even them, can properly see.
—Jamie Lang, Variety, 18 Oct. 2024
Hugely powerful glide bombs that have terrorized civilian areas of Ukraine and bludgeoned Ukrainian army defenses were also kept at the arsenal, located 115 kilometers (70 miles) from the Ukrainian border, and some of the ammunition was stored in the open, Ukraine said.
—Morgan Phillips, Fox News, 9 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrorize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for terrorize
Verb
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But Hanks does commendable supporting work as a nerdy FBI agent on Abagnale’s trail — essentially playing the sort of conventional square whose mediocre life frightens the restless, rootless Abagnale.Tim Grierson, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2024
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There is little evidence wolves frighten elk merely by their presence, the authors say.ByVirginia Morell, science.org, 23 Oct. 2024
Verb
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Fear of further controversy or a backlash from pro-Israeli supporters appears to have scared off U.S. distributors.Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Nov. 2024
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Instead, make noise to scare it away, the website said.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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At first, the girls are only in danger of being forced to listen to one man’s extremely pretentious opinions about religion, philosophy, culture, and yes, pop music, which is terrifying in itself.Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 7 Nov. 2024
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As an American Jew, that kind of language terrifies me.Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
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The handful of locals at Mt. Baldy Lodge eating lunch Tuesday afternoon were startled when someone screamed that the Bridge fire was barreling toward the village.Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2024
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How about experiments on the swimming ability of a dead rainbow trout or that time biologists tried to startle cows by popping paper bags by their heads?Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 12 Sep. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near terrorize
Cite this Entry
“Terrorize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/terrorize. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
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