terroristic

terroristic — adjective

  • terroristicpositive
  • more terroristiccomparative
  • most terroristicsuperlative

1. relating to acts of violence against ordinary people that are done for political

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to acts of violence against ordinary people that are done for political reasons, or having the usual qualities of terrorism

Example

Darius warned the city council about the rise in terroristic threats against local officials.

terroristic + noun (attributive use)

Padma's report examined how terroristic propaganda spreads through online videos.

Common collocations
  • terroristic threat
  • terroristic intent
  • terroristic violence
  • terroristic act
  • terroristic propaganda
  • terroristic financing
Synonyms
  • terrorist

    far more common as an adjective; used with concrete nouns like 'attack', 'group', 'plot'

  • extremist

    broader — describes people or ideas at the far end of a political spectrum, not necessarily violent

  • violent

    much broader; covers any use of physical force, not specifically political

Antonyms
  • peaceful

    opposite in intent and method

  • nonviolent

    describes actions that avoid physical force altogether

Grammar Patterns

terroristic + noun

be/become/consider + terroristic

Usage Note

In everyday news reports, 'terrorist' (used as an adjective, e.g. 'terrorist attack', 'terrorist group') is far more common than 'terroristic'. This form appears mainly in legal documents, academic writing, and official government statements describing intent, financing, or propaganda.

Common Mistakes

The police stopped a terroristic attack last night.
The police stopped a terrorist attack last night.
'terrorist attack' is the standard collocation; 'terroristic' sounds unnatural with concrete event nouns.
He was charged with terroristic activities.
He was charged with terrorist activities.
Use 'terrorist' (noun used as adjective) for most everyday phrases; 'terroristic' is reserved for formal or legal contexts.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Terrorist and terroristic both relate to terrorism, but differ sharply in how common each is. Terrorist is the everyday word — used as a noun ('a terrorist') and as an attributive adjective before concrete nouns ('terrorist attack', 'terrorist group', 'terrorist plot'). Terroristic is rarer and tends to appear before abstract nouns ('terroristic threat', 'terroristic intent') or in formal legal documents. Extremist is broader, describing people or ideas at the far end of any political spectrum; an extremist may not support violence. Violent is the most general term, covering any use of physical force regardless of motive. Radical refers to supporting fundamental change, often through peaceful means. For example: 'The court examined whether the speech showed terroristic intent' vs. 'The terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing.'

terrorist ↗extremist ↗violent ↗radical ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • potentially terroristic
  • increasingly terroristic
  • allegedly terroristic
  • purely terroristic

Phrases

  • terroristic in nature
  • terroristic in intent

Prepositions

  • described as terroristic
  • considered terroristic
  • regarded as terroristic

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Terroristic comes from terrorism (from French terrorisme, from Latin terror meaning 'great fear') plus the adjective suffix -istic, which means 'relating to or characterized by'. The word entered English in the mid-1900s as a formal alternative to the more common adjective terrorist.

First known use

1842

1842, in the meaning defined above