Synonyms

threaten

American

[thret-n] / ˈθrɛt n /

verb (used with object)

to utter a threat against; menace.

He threatened the boy with a beating.
to be a menace or source of danger to.

Sickness threatened her peace of mind.

Synonyms:

endanger

Antonyms:

defend, protect
to offer (a punishment, injury, etc.) by way of a threat.

They threatened swift retaliation.
to give an ominous indication of.

The clouds threaten rain.

verb (used without object)

to utter or use threats.
to indicate impending evil or mischief.

threaten British

/ ˈθrɛtən /

verb

(tr) to be a threat to
to be a menacing indication of (something); portend

dark clouds threatened rain
(when tr, may take a clause as object) to express a threat to (a person or people)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does threaten mean? To threaten someone is to indicate that you will cause harm to or create some other kind of negative consequences for them, especially to pressure them to do something or not to do something. This kind of statement is called a threat. Threatening someone often involves a promise to physically harm them in retaliation for what they have done or might do. A bank robber might threaten a bank teller by telling them he’ll shoot them if they don’t hand over the money. Some threats are simply meant to intimidate, and don’t involve pressuring someone to do something. A bully might threaten to punch you for no good reason. Not all threats involve violence. You can threaten someone with a lawsuit. The word threat can also refer to someone or something that may potentially cause harm or damage, and threaten can mean to be a source of potential harm or damage. A disease threatens your health. A security threat is someone or something that threatens to make a situation unsafe. Threat can also mean a warning or sign that harm or trouble is coming, and threaten can mean to indicate potential harm or trouble, as in It is threatening to storm out there. The adjective threatening is used to describe someone or something that causes alarm, intimidates, or is intended to intimidate, as in You look very threatening in that costume. The adjective threatened means in danger, as in I felt threatened or We need to protect threatened species. Example: The rowdy students immediately started to behave after the teacher threatened to call their parents.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of threaten

First recorded before 1000; Middle English thretnen, Old English thrēatnian, derivative of thrēat “pressure, oppression”; equivalent to threat + -en ¹

Explanation

Something that threatens makes its danger known. Storm clouds threaten rain, and bullies threaten other kids. Unfortunately, there are lots of people and things that threaten — it's a dangerous world. If someone threatens you with violence, you should call the police. The police may then threaten the criminal with arresting them. Nations threaten each other before going to war. You can also say a dangerous situation is threatening, like gloomy weather. Sometimes this word is used more lightheartedly, like if an old friend threatens to hug you to death.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

threaten threatens threatened threatening

If his boasts mean he will no longer threaten to annex Greenland, that’s good.

From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026

Some of the builders of the world’s most powerful artificial-intelligence systems are warning that their creations could eventually threaten humanity.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

Slash's groundsnake may pose little danger to humans, but human activity could threaten the species and many other animals living in New Guinea's forests.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

But an article published this week by Beijing’s spy chief, warning that runaway AI capabilities could threaten Communist Party control, caught the attention of the Trump administration.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

The propagandists with the Imperial Japanese Army develop flyers and press releases to threaten the guerrillas, hoping to quash their spirits.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

The rise of AI shopping agents threatens to disrupt traditional e-commerce and online-advertising models, according to Pivotal’s Wlodarczak.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

He threatens a network, and the network gets a bump in attention.

From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026

“We have always been transparent, compassionate, and committed to giving these dogs a second chance. This situation is not only devastating—it threatens the future of our entire rescue,” the plea reads.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

This threatens Saudi Arabia’s strategy of dodging the risks of passage in the Strait of Hormuz by exporting its oil via its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

This is the thing to remember when fear threatens to swallow me up.

From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins

During negotiations, Paramount threatened to move its studio out of state, which Newsom said he took seriously.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The court documents quoted a series of exchanges in which someone, identified by the estate as Seaver, threatened to destroy Parton's brand.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The government of China, which represents a great civilization and has become a global power, shouldn’t feel threatened by a 78-year-old publisher whose only weapons are his faith, his words and his conscience.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

That has led to higher prices for jet fuel, just a few months after global airlines, U.S. carriers included, averted a major fuel crisis that had threatened their all-important summer travel season.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026

When the Allies threatened to invade, the Germans relented.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

A weather pattern marked by warming water in the Pacific Ocean, El Niño tends to cause droughts in much of the world, threatening harvests for crops from sugar to wheat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

"Washington worries about capability escaping control. Beijing worries about capability threatening domestic stability," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

It can represent the possibility of losing control, a prospect, for someone with trauma, that can be very threatening.

From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026

There’s no better way to draw attention to an artist’s work than threatening to shut it down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Worse, some feathers from her carpetbag had come loose and were floating around the barrel in time to her breath, threatening to make her sneeze.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023