the terrorists will have won

phrase

Phrase used to indicate that if a specified activity is not continued or carried out, those who seek to disrupt normal activities through terror will have succeeded, which is an unacceptable result.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticPhrase used to indicate that if a specified activity is not continued or carried out, those who seek to disrupt normal activities through terror will have succeeded, which is an unacceptable result.

    If you throttle the free press, the terrorists will have won.

    1979, Edwin Nobles Lowe with Harry D. Shargel, Legal and other aspects of terrorism, page 222
    2 more examples

    If governments overact and become oppressive, the terrorists will have won, for their theory is that repression will eventually lead to revolution.

    1989, Susheela Bhan, Terrorism: an Annotated Bibliography, page 116

    If we have to wear sweaters and turn down our thermostat, the terrorists will have won.

    2009, Andrea Cohen-Kiener, Claiming Earth As Common Ground: The Ecological Crisis Through the Lens of Faith, page 17

Translations

Italian hanno vinto i terroristi
  • hanno vinto i terroristiTranslations
Spanish los terroristas han vencido
  • los terroristas han vencidoTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

the terrorists will have won. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20terrorists%20will%20have%20won

MLA

“the terrorists will have won.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20terrorists%20will%20have%20won. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the terrorists will have won,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20terrorists%20will%20have%20won.

Source: the terrorists will have won on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.