terrorist
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terrorist
A person who carries out terror, that is, systematically commits violence and attacks in order to achieve political, religious, or ideological goals and spread fear among the population.
Die Polizei konnte den Terroristen nach einer langen Verfolgungsjagd festnehmen.
The police were able to arrest the terrorist after a long chase.
The word is made up of 'der Terror' (terror) and the ending '-ist' (-ist). The ending '-ist' often refers to a person who follows a particular ideology or performs a particular activity.
Ein Pazifist lehnt Gewalt grundsätzlich ab.
A pacifist rejects violence on principle.
'Der Terrorist' (the terrorist) belongs to a word family. Related words are 'der Terror' (violence/terror), 'der Terrorismus' (the system/the ideology), and 'terroristisch' (the adjective: terrorist/terroristic).
Die Regierung verurteilt jede Form von Terrorismus.
The government condemns every form of terrorism.
In news and police contexts, 'Terrorist' (terrorist) is often combined with certain verbs. Typical phrases are 'einen Terroristen festnehmen' (to arrest a terrorist), 'einen Terroristen identifizieren' (to identify a terrorist), or 'einen Terroristen überwältigen' (to overpower a terrorist).
Spezialeinheiten konnten den Terroristen festnehmen.
Special units were able to arrest the terrorist.
Islamist
'der Terrorist' and 'der Islamist' are sometimes confused because both words can appear in news about violence and politics. But they do not mean the same thing. A terrorist carries out attacks or violence in order to spread fear and achieve goals. An Islamist is a supporter of a political ideology that wants to organize society according to a particular interpretation of Islam. An Islamist is not automatically a terrorist. Conversely, terror can also come from other political or religious directions. To be precise: 'Terrorist' mainly describes the violent act, while 'Islamist' mainly describes the ideology.
Die Polizei sucht den Terroristen, der den Anschlag geplant haben soll.
The police are looking for the terrorist who is said to have planned the attack.
Im Kurs erklärt die Lehrerin, warum ein Islamist nicht einfach mit einem Muslim gleichgesetzt werden darf.
In the course, the teacher explains why an Islamist must not simply be equated with a Muslim.