terrorist attack

English Thesaurus

1. a surprise attack involving the deliberate use of violence against civilians in the hope of attaining political or religious aims (noun.act)

hypernym	:	act of terrorism, terrorism, terrorist act,
definition	:	the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear (noun.act)

hypernym	:	coup de main, surprise attack,
definition	:	an attack without warning (noun.act)

instance hyponym	:	9-11, 9/11, sep 11, sept. 11, september 11,
definition	:	the day in 2001 when Arab suicide bombers hijacked United States airliners and used them as bombs (noun.time)