chemical terrorism
1
7.9
- noun
- /ˈkɛmɪkəl ˈtɛrəˌrɪzəm/
- Specialized
:
terrorismo químico
- The government's strategy included measures to prevent chemical terrorism from threatening public safety.
- biological and chemical terrorism
Examples
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If humanity fails to find ways to create a more equitable, sustainable world, it faces the prospect of chaos from nuclear explosions, human-made plagues, bio and chemical terrorism, and environmental and economic collapses.
Academic text (2003) -
For many years, the possibility of biological or chemical terrorism has been a concern to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other agencies (CDC, 2000).
Academic text (2006) -
Given the intense interest in the potential for chemical terrorism and the existence of considerable information on emergency-response events, as well as chemicals most likely to be used in intentional attacks, the authors reviewed HSEES data for events involving Priority I chemicals from the Chemical Terrorism Listing.
Academic text (2006) -
My next novel, THE FALLEN, which is the third novel in the Derek Stillwater series (he's a troubleshooter for Homeland Security and an expert on biological and chemical terrorism), is out April 5 from Oceanview Publishing.
Blog text (13) -
After the attack, officials increased funding to address the risks of chemical terrorism in urban areas.
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Experts warned that chemical terrorism could lead to devastating consequences for civilian populations.
How Severe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'chemical' (relating to chemicals) modifying 'terrorism' (violent intimidation for political ends), so the meaning — terrorism carried out using chemical agents — is directly inferable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically and follows standard English modifier-noun semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily understand the term.
Etymology
Chemical terrorism comes from the frightening image of attackers releasing dangerous chemical poisons, like gas or tainted water, in public places to hurt or scare people. That's why chemical terrorism means using toxic chemicals as weapons to 'threaten', 'harm', or 'cause fear' in a community.