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

Meanwhile, mounting monsoon-related risks threaten to push food prices higher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

The security checks designed to stop passengers bringing anything on board that could threaten flight safety also apply to the crew, and pilots cannot get around them.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Warmer seas help spawn Pacific hurricanes, which have already battered Hawai‘i this year. As I write this, rhyming storms named Polo and Nolo threaten to bring flooding to Hawai‘i and Mexico.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Every time the filmmaker’s typically unconventional ideas threaten to tilt the movie too far askew, the sisters bring “Bucking Fastard” back on the straight and narrow.

From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026

Maybe the cap’n would tell me ’bout cat-hauling ’cause what good is it to threaten someone with a punishment if they ain’t got no idea what the punishment is?

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

That should help keep the pressure on bonds, as the Treasury yield curve threatens to invert once again.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

The rapid adoption of the new artificial-intelligence agent threatens to disrupt wealth managers, brokerages and insurers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 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

I rush back into the house because the cold threatens to swallow me whole.

From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi

On Thursday, Ethiopia announced that it was closing its embassy in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave the country within 48 hours, accusing them of activities that threatened national security.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

“Vince . . . basically threatened to fire me if I ever brought it up again and read me the riot act,” Ventura explained on The Steve Austin Show.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

He sincerely felt threatened by the world at large encroaching on his time and talent.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Last week, it had already brought together thousands of protesters and threatened a general strike.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Her knees threatened to buckle as she reached the stairs and made a last-ditch attempt to stay upright.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Development and wildfires have destroyed swaths of the plants’ habitat, while climate change is threatening to make much of what remains inhospitable.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Ice loss in Antarctica, meanwhile, is threatening penguin populations on the frozen continent.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

The bad blood between the two teams escalated to the administrators of the game in each country and even turned into a diplomatic incident, threatening to strain relationships between governments.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

In parts of Africa, Central America, and India, drought is already strangling crop yields and threatening famine.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

The questions about my daddy cut like a raging river between us, threatening to tear us apart.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

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