terrorize
/ˈtɛɹəɹaɪz/verb
terrorize is spelled T-E-R-R-O-R-I-Z-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, terrorize means “To fill (someone) with terror; to terrify” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in terrorize?
| Letters | 9: T-E-R-R-O-R-I-Z-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 37,459th 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 terrorize?
Terrorize appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,459th 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 terrorize?
- /ˈtɛɹəɹaɪz/
Terrorize has 3 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-terrorize.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of terrorize
- terrorizes present, singular, he/she/it
- terrorizing participle, present
- terrorized participle, past
- terrorise
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does terrorize mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
BritishUSTo fill (someone) with terror; to terrify.
terrorize the population
- 2
BritishUSTo coerce (someone) by using threats or violence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Terrorize in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense fill with terror:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | terroriser |
| German | terrorisieren |
| Spanish | terrorizar, aterrorizar |
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.