terror


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a holy terror

A very troublesome, aggressive, or aggravating person; a person who is exasperatingly difficult in manner or behavior. I know that I was a holy terror when I was young, so I guess it's fitting that my own kids give me so much trouble.
See also: holy, terror

reign of terror

A period of oppression by a hostile ruler. Sometimes used hyperbolically. The people could only tolerate the dictator's reign of terror for so long before they started a revolution. Is mom finished with her reign of terror, or do we have to keep cleaning the house every weekend?
See also: of, reign, terror

blanch with (an emotion)

To become visibly pale as a result of feeling a particular emotion. All of my friends ran into the creepy haunted house, but I blanched with fear when I saw it. Stella blanched with disgust at the plate of cooked ants that had been set before her.
See also: blanch

king of terrors

1. Death as an idea or personification. In those days, the king of terrors was ever present in families' lives, such that they were forever prepared to confront the death of a loved one at almost any given moment.
2. That which is a notable cause of death. Her blood ran cold when the doctor said it could be that king of terrors, cancer.
See also: king, of, terror

strike fear into (one)

To frighten, terrify, or horrify someone. While rather impractical and ineffective in combat, the use of flamethrowers in World War II was very effective at striking fear into civilians and enemy soldiers alike. The recent epidemic has struck fear into countries around the world.
See also: fear, strike

strike terror into (one)

To frighten, terrify, or horrify someone. While rather impractical and ineffective in combat, the use of flamethrowers in World War II was very effective at striking terror into civilians and enemy soldiers alike. The recent epidemic has struck terror into countries around the world.
See also: strike, terror

hold terror for someone

[for something] to be frightening to a person. The thought of flying to Rio by myself held great terror for me. Nothing holds terror for me. I am a daredevil.
See also: hold, terror

holy terror

An exasperating individual, as in He was only five, but he was a holy terror, running wild through the house and throwing whatever he could lay his hands on . The adjective holy here is an intensifier. [Late 1800s]
See also: holy, terror

a reign of terror

COMMON A reign of terror is a period during which there is a lot of violence and killing, especially by people who are in positions of power. The dictator's 17-year reign of terror had ended and the people took to the streets to celebrate their freedom. His victims during a four-month reign of terror included a schoolgirl and a student. Note: The original Reign of Terror was during the French Revolution between April 1793 and July 1794, when many thousands were put to death by the government.
See also: of, reign, terror

king of terrors

death personified.
See also: king, of, terror

strike ˌfear, ˌterror, etc. into somebody/somebody’s ˈheart

(formal) make somebody feel fear, terror, etc: His crimes struck horror into the nation’s heart.
See also: heart, somebody, strike

holy terror

n. a devilish person; a badly behaving child. Why is the boss such a holy terror today?
See also: holy, terror
References in periodicals archive ?
Cayetano noted the attack came more than a month after an IS follower plowed a truck through a Manhattan bicycle path, killing eight persons and injuring eleven others in what was seen as the worst terror attack in New York since 9/11.
DFA alerts Filipinos in New York after failed Times Square attack
Detectives' fieldwork against members of the terror group paid off as it led to exposing and obtaining documented proof of their complicity in bankrolling terrorist activity, recruiting new members for the said terror organization and plotting a terror attack.
Terrorists Plotting Attacks in Russia's Moscow Region Arrested
The attendees denounced the terror incident, calling on all countries, through their embassies in Egypt, to organise a demonstration in Egypt to denounce the incident.
"Egypt Counters Terrorism" conference calls for international rally in Egypt against terrorism
He said that the nurseries of terror must be removed and all terrorists, their supporters and financiers must be apprehended and brought before the law.
Asif Zardari condemned terror attack in Quetta
The national counter terror budget is PS707 million, while the Government's projected cuts of 7.
Cuts threaten counter terror police
Shah also confessed to have received funds from terror outfits from Pakistan to promote terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir and others parts of India.
Delhi court to hear Shabir Shah terror-funding case today
A secret investigation into conspiracy against the internal security of the State by means of tracking the movements of police and the military and exchanging information with terrorists abroad was initiated three and a half months ago by the Public Prosecutor at the Anti-Terror Judicial Pole, in collaboration with the anti- terror squad.
Terror plot foiled in southern Tunisia (Sliti)
According to the Inter Services Public Relations, the FC during various search operation apprehended two terror suspects having links with a banned outfit from Killi Ismail area of Quetta while another was rounded up from Zhob.
3 terror suspects apprehended from Quetta, Zhob
Using a wide definition of the term "terror" drawn from residential schools, overseas conflicts and the American "war on terror," the authors seek to explain the ways in which terror shapes and defines the lives of racialized and Indigenous women, activists and scholars in the global North.
At The Limits Of Justice: Women of Colour on Terror
Dubai: Though sleep terrors and sleep walking are associated with school-going children they are not the only ones affected by it.
Sleep walking, terrors: what you should know
India is also getting support from its neighbours Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who have launched frontal attacks to expose Pakistan's involvement in terror in their countries.
SUSHMA TO RALLY GLOBAL SUPPORT
The government of Bulgaria has adopted draft legislation that gives law enforcement and security agencies rights to curb civil liberties in case of a terror emergency.
Bulgaria's Govt OKs Controversial Anti-Terror Bill
The Turkish nation, all too familiar with terror attacks, has started to question other issues since last July: Why would terror organizations ever target large cities?
Don't give in to terror
17 (BNA): President of the Terror Crime Prosecution Advocate General Ahmed Al-Hammadi announced the completion of investigations into a case linked to manufacturing and possessing explosives in a warehouse in Dar Kulaib and joining a terror group.
Explosive suspects to be tried on November 26
MANAMA, Dec 20 (KUNA) -- Bahrain Terror Crime Prosecution Chief Attorney General Ahmed Al-Hamadi said Saturday that five people have been remanded in custody pending investigation in connection with the terror blast which left one on-duty policeman dead in Demistan on December 8.
Bahrain detains 5-member terror cell
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