Tĕr'ror, n.
[Lat. terror, from terrere, to frighten; It. terrore, Pr., Sp., & Pg. terror, Fr. terreur.]
Sense 1. Extreme fear; fear that agitates the body and mind; violent dread; fright.
Amaze and terror seized the rebel host. Milton.
Sense 2. That which may excite dread; the cause of extreme fear. “Those enormous terrors of the Nile.” Prior.
Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Rom. xiii. 3.
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats. Shak.
Terror is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, terror-fraught, terror-giving, terror-smitten, terror-stricken, terror-struck, and the like.
Reign of terror (Fr. Hist.), that period during the revolution when executions were most numerous, and the people were kept in the greatest fear by their rulers. This extended from October, 1793, to July, 1794.—The king of terrors, death.
Synonyms—Alarm; fright; consternation; dread; dismay. See ALARM.