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# terrorise

verb (terrorise, terrorises, terrorised, terrorising; US terrorize)

«terrorise» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. To terrorise people is to frighten them very badly, again and again, often by threats or violence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#m1)
2. (humour) To terrorise can mean to playfully bother or chase, like a puppy terrorising the cat. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#m2)

### In the lessons

In history and news, gangs, pirates or armies terrorised towns. In anti-bullying lessons, terrorising another child is bullying and must be reported. In stories, a monster or a dragon terrorises a village. Phrases: «terrorise a town», «terrorised by».

### Examples

- A dragon terrorised the village in the old tale. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x1)
- Pirates terrorised ships along the coast. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x2)
- Bullying means terrorising someone again and again — tell a teacher. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x3)
- Our new kitten terrorises the dog. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x4)
- The wolf terrorised the farm animals. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x5)
- The gang terrorised the neighbourhood until the police came. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/#x6)

### Note

UK spelling «terrorise», US «terrorize». Related: «terror», «terrorist» (someone who uses violence to frighten people for political aims). The playful sense is only for light jokes.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «terrorise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/terrorise/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«terrorise» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/terrorise.html) on Mova free.