idle threat

American  

[ahy-duhl thret] / ˈaɪ dəl ˈθrɛt /

noun

idle threats plural

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• idle threats
  plural

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

idle threat

Or maybe the signs had been an idle threat.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2022

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

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2019

The prospect of a trade war is not an idle threat to producers of corn syrup, who have sold more than $3 billion of the sweetener to Mexico over the past five years.

From New York Times ● Jun. 4, 2017

And, for once, this is no idle threat.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 30, 2014

Apparently I’d frightened him with my idle threat earlier.

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss