threaten

[thret-n]

verb (used with object)

1. to utter a threat against; menace.

   He threatened the boy with a beating.

2. to be a menace or source of danger to.

   Sickness threatened her peace of mind.

   Synonyms: endanger
   Antonyms: defend, protect

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

   They threatened swift retaliation.

4. to give an ominous indication of.

   The clouds threaten rain.

verb (used without object)

1. to utter or use threats.

2. to indicate impending evil or mischief.

threaten

/ ˈθrɛtən /

verb

1. (tr) to be a threat to

2. to be a menacing indication of (something); portend

   dark clouds threatened rain

3. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to express a threat to (a person or people)

Other Word Forms

• threatener noun
• outthreaten verb (used with object)
• prethreaten verb (used with object)
• rethreaten verb
• threateningly adverb
• threatening adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of threaten¹

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

Example Sentences

After asking questions about her family background, Enat says the soldiers began insulting her, then threatened her niece with a gun when the little girl started crying.

Read more on BBC

“Wielding the news distortion policy, the FCC has already opened or threatened to open investigations against private broadcasters due to disagreements with editorial decisions,” says the petition.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Education Department’s latest layoffs are depleting an agency already hit hard by previous mass firings, threatening new disruption to the nation’s schools.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The clowns on Autumn’s socks are wearing gruesome smiles and wielding wickedly sharp knives, as if threatening me to be emotionally vulnerable.

Read more on Literature

He babbled in a mix of languages and pounded his fists on the nursery wall until the plaster threatened to crack.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• intimidate 
• menace 
• scare 

When To Use

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.