English Explanatory Dictionary

reign of terror

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A brutal period of political violence and intimidation in the wake of a popular revolution.
  2. A period defined by tyranny and violation of rights without accountability for the party responsible.
name
  1. The period of the French Revolution between 1793 and 1794, marked by political violence, including massacres and public executions by guillotine of over a thousand French citizens accused of bearing reactionary sentiments or treason against the French First Republic.

Word forms

reign of terror reigns of terror the Reign of Terror

Etymology

From the Reign of Terror that took place during the French Revolution.

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