reign of terror

noun

"reign-of-terror" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“reign of terror” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A brutal period of political violence and intimidation in the wake of a popular revolution.

Corpus desk

Index EN-reign-of-terror · reign of terror · English

reign of terror · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 15 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "R" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for reign of terror
PropertyValue
Headwordreign of terror
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “reign of terror” in English

reign of terrorranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

reign of terror is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for reign of terror in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From the Reign of Terror that took place during the French Revolution. The correct English form is reign of terror, spelled R-E-I-G-N- -O-F- -T-E-R-R-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A brutal period of political violence and intimidation in the wake of a popular revolution.
  2. 2
    A period defined by tyranny and violation of rights without accountability for the party responsible.

Etymology

From the Reign of Terror that took place during the French Revolution.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "reign of terror"?
"reign of terror" is spelled R-E-I-G-N- -O-F- -T-E-R-R-O-R.
What does "reign of terror" mean?
As a noun, "reign of terror" means: A brutal period of political violence and intimidation in the wake of a popular revolution.
What is the origin of the word "reign of terror"?
From the Reign of Terror that took place during the French Revolution. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list