to terrorize
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to terrorize
To systematically put someone or a group of people in fear and terror through violence, threats, or other cruel actions.
Die Miliz terrorisierte die Zivilbevölkerung über Monate hinweg.
The militia terrorized the civilian population for months.
to terrorize
To constantly harass or bother someone in a very annoying way. This use is colloquial and strongly exaggerated.
Meine kleine Schwester terrorisiert mich den ganzen Tag mit ihren Fragen.
My little sister terrorizes me all day with her questions.
The verb 'terrorisieren' (to terrorize) is derived from the noun 'der Terror' (terror). The ending '-isieren' is often used to form verbs from nouns, and here it means 'to carry out terror'.
Die Bande war dafür bekannt, die gesamte Nachbarschaft zu terrorisieren.
The gang was known for terrorizing the entire neighborhood.
'Terrorisieren' is a transitive verb. It always needs a direct object in the accusative, meaning the person or group that is being terrorized.
Der Diktator terrorisierte sein eigenes Volk.
The dictator terrorized his own people.
The verb has a serious meaning (violence, fear) and an exaggerated, colloquial meaning (to annoy greatly). The context makes the difference clear: Is it about war and violence, or about everyday, harmless annoyances?
Die Extremisten terrorisierten die Region mit Anschlägen.
The extremists terrorized the region with attacks.
In the meaning 'stark nerven' (to be extremely annoying), the word is used colloquially and exaggeratedly (hyperbolically). It is often supplemented with the preposition 'mit' to state what the person is annoying others with.
Er terrorisiert das ganze Büro mit seiner lauten Musik.
He terrorizes the whole office with his loud music.
to annoy
Nerven and terrorisieren can both describe constantly bothering someone. Nerven is the neutral everyday choice, while terrorisieren dramatizes and exaggerates the annoyance considerably. Nerven is suitable for repeated, irritating behavior; terrorisieren is more likely when you deliberately want to portray the extreme effect especially strongly.
Die Kinder terrorisieren den Nachbarn umgangssprachlich jeden Nachmittag mit ihrem lauten Ballspiel.
In colloquial usage, the children terrorize the neighbor every afternoon with their loud ball games.
Die Kinder nerven den Nachbarn jeden Nachmittag mit ihrem lauten Ballspiel.
The children annoy the neighbor every afternoon with their loud ball games.
