different between terrorist vs terrific

English

Etymology

From French terroriste; synchronically terror +? -ist. First used by Edmund Burke.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?????st/

Noun

terrorist (plural terrorists)

1. A person, group, or organization that uses violent action, or the threat of violent action, to further political goals.
2. An agent or partisan of the revolutionary tribunal during the Reign of Terror in France.

Hyponyms

• lone wolfer

Translations

Adjective

terrorist (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to terrorism.
   • 2002 January 29, George Walker Bush, "2002 State of the Union Address".

Usage notes

The use of the label "terrorist" is often controversial or subjective, since one person's terrorist may be another's "freedom fighter", and vice versa depending on somebody's personal ideology or beliefs.A cynical definition may be that a terrorist is someone who murders or terrorizes more of those for whom the terrorist is fighting, than their supposed enemies.

Related terms

• terror
• terrorize
• terroristic
• terrorism
• ecoterrorist

Translations

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French terroriste.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?t?.r??r?st/
• Hyphenation: ter?ro?rist
• Rhymes: -?st

Noun

terrorist m (plural terroristen, diminutive terroristje n)

1. (derogaroty, see usage note) A terrorist.
2. (historical) A supporter of the French Reign of Terror.

Usage notes

Like English terrorist, use of this word is rather subjective.

Derived terms

• terroristisch

Related terms

• terroriseren
• terrorisme

Descendants

• ? Indonesian: teroris

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

terrorist m (definite singular terroristen, indefinite plural terrorister, definite plural terroristene)

1. terrorist (person who uses terror as a weapon in a political struggle)

Related terms

• terrorisme

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

terrorist m (definite singular terroristen, indefinite plural terroristar, definite plural terroristane)

1. terrorist (person who uses terror as a weapon in a political struggle)

Related terms

• terrorisme

Swedish

Etymology

terror +? -ist

Noun

terrorist c

1. terrorist

Declension

Related terms

• terrordåd
• terrorisera
• terrorism

See also

• självmordsbombare

English

Alternative forms

• terrifick (obsolete)

Etymology

From French terrifique, and its source, Latin terrificus (“terrifying”), from terrere (“to frighten, terrify”) + -ficus, from facere (“to make”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t????f?k/
• Rhymes: -?f?k

Adjective

terrific (comparative more terrific, superlative most terrific)

1. (now rare) Terrifying, causing terror; terrible; sublime, awe-inspiring. [from 17th c.]

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:frightening

   • 1796–7, Mary Wollstonecraft, The Wrongs of Woman, Oxford 2009, p. 83:

     [T]he dismal shrieks of demoniac rage […] roused phantoms of horror in her mind, far more terrific than all that dreaming superstition ever drew.

   • 1821, Charles Maturin, Melmoth the Wanderer, volume 2, page 154:

     Think of wandering amid sepulchral ruins, of stumbling over the bones of the dead, of encountering what I cannot describe,—the horror of being among those who are neither the living or the dead;—those dark and shadowless things that sport themselves with the reliques of the dead, and feast and love amid corruption,—ghastly, mocking, and terrific.
2. Very strong or intense; excessive, tremendous. [from 18th c.]

   The car came round the bend at a terrific speed.

   I've got a terrific hangover this morning.
3. Extremely good; excellent, amazing. [from 19th c.]

   I say! She's a terrific tennis player.

Synonyms

• brilliant
• horrific

Related terms

• terrible
• terrify
• terrifying
• terror
• terrorist
• terrorize

Translations

Further reading

• terrific in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• terrific in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• ferritic