terrorism
/ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/noun
terrorism is spelled T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-M: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, terrorism means “The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of terrorism is terrorisms.
How many letters and syllables are in terrorism?
| Letters | 9: T-E-R-R-O-R-I-S-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,752nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is terrorism?
Terrorism appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,752nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce terrorism?
- /ˈtɛɹəɹɪzəm/
Terrorism has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-terrorism.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of terrorism
- terrorisms plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does terrorism mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The system of fear and intimidation put into place during the Reign of Terror in Revolutionary France around 1793-94.
- 2
The use of unlawful violence against people or property to achieve political objectives.
- 3
The use of intimidation or bullying tactics.
Wiktionary also records terrorism as a common misspelling of another word in some uses; the senses above are its own.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Terrorism in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense use of terror as a means of coercion:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | terrorisme |
| German | Terrorismus |
| Portuguese | terrorismo |
| Spanish | terrorismo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.