Terror is an extreme feeling of fear, often sudden and overwhelming. It can also refer to violent acts meant to scare and control people.
From Latin *terror* 'great fear, dread', from *terrere* 'to frighten'. The word has long been used both for intense personal fear and for public campaigns of fear.
Terror isn’t just regular fear—it’s fear that takes over your whole system, freezing or panicking you. The same root powers 'terrify', 'terrible', and 'terrorist', all built around the idea of making others afraid.
'Terror' appears in contexts from state violence to domestic abuse and sexual violence, where women and gender minorities have been disproportionately targeted. Language around 'terror' can sometimes obscure who is most affected and who holds power.
When discussing terror or terrorism, be specific about actors, victims, and power structures; avoid stereotypes that tie terror to any gender, ethnicity, or religion.
["extreme fear","horror","terrorism (when specific)","campaign of violence"]
Women have been both victims of terror and leaders in resistance movements, documentation, and peacebuilding, though their roles are often underreported.
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