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idle threat

American

[ahy-duhl thret] / ˈaɪ dəl ˈθrɛt /

noun

a threat that is not likely to be carried out, usually because the person who made it does not really mean it.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

idle threats

plural

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:

idle threat

Since California is a state where direct democracy is a way of life, this is no idle threat.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 27, 2019

The State Department has made clear it was not just an idle threat.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2019

Rather than treating that as an idle threat, the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2018

Chinese officials say they do not dismiss anything as an idle threat.

From New York Times ● May 29, 2018

The prophet snickers, the lore-master groans, and everyone else waits to see whether or not it’s an idle threat.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

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