threaten
Americanverb (used with object)
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to utter a threat against; menace.
He threatened the boy with a beating.
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to be a menace or source of danger to.
Sickness threatened her peace of mind.
- Synonyms:
- endanger
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to offer (a punishment, injury, etc.) by way of a threat.
They threatened swift retaliation.
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to give an ominous indication of.
The clouds threaten rain.
verb (used without object)
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to utter or use threats.
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to indicate impending evil or mischief.
verb
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(tr) to be a threat to
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to be a menacing indication of (something); portend
dark clouds threatened rain
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(when tr, may take a clause as object) to express a threat to (a person or people)
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
- outthreaten verb (used with object)
- prethreaten verb (used with object)
- rethreaten verb
- threatener noun
- threatening adjective
- threateningly adverb
Etymology
Origin of threaten
First recorded before 1000; Middle English thretnen, Old English thrēatnian, derivative of thrēat “pressure, oppression”; equivalent to threat + -en 1
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.
He issued a full and unconditional pardon that, because her crimes were at the state level, had no legal effect, and so he threatened “harsh measures” if she was not released.
From Salon
Some business leaders threatened to leave the city, while others spent millions behind the scenes to try to coalesce support around other mayoral candidates.
From BBC
Gloucester threatened a late comeback with tries from Mikey Austin and Ciaran Knight but Newcastle held on for a vital win.
From Barron's
But when it comes to creating federal policy, ignoring what many suspect is routinely occurring creates a dangerous fiction that threatens more than the crypto business.
Britain’s constitutional structure is threatened from multiple directions.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
