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

The observatory will also offer a live stream shown on a large screen, if clouds threaten to obscure the view.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Japan's defence ministry declined to comment directly on Kim Yo Jong's Wednesday diatribe but said the country's defence capabilities "remain bare minimum" and "are not meant to threaten other countries".

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Rising long-term interest rates may also threaten stock prices.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

As the algae decay, they can damage marine environments, threaten human and animal health, discourage tourism, and create financial losses for coastal communities.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Are you threatening me? Because it looks like you’re trying to threaten me.”

From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya

AI threatens to make some software tools obsolete, particularly those built around narrow tasks such as legal drafting, research and other repetitive work, reports Kate Clark.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Typically, a man’s mid-life crisis occurs between his 40s and 50s when, having achieved a stable economic and sociopolitical status, a new generation emerges that threatens to replace him.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

When Bertha’s down-to-earth sister, Monica, threatens to ruin the overall aesthetic with a dowdy frock, some light sabotage leads Monica to accept Bertha’s previously worn Season 1 gown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

It comes as Uefa threatens legal action over the proposals and Wales publicly withdraw backing for Infantino's bid to continue as Fifa president.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

“Well, yeah,” Daniel said, also agog, “but it’s all talk, isn’t it? He threatens to destroy us, we threaten to destroy him, nobody destroys anyone and we all go home without the world ending.”

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

As she proceeded there, they threatened to arrest her and Jonathan again and suggested she stay in a hotel overnight to get the additional money the next day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Having left after feeling threatened, she chose the seaside town where they had been on summer and half term holidays, although it meant leaving her family and friends behind.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Two other Republicans who had threatened Blanche’s nomination, Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, ultimately voted to confirm him after extracting concessions.

From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026

Prosecutors have yet to say exactly how Cloobeck allegeldy threatened Lavie’s victims.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

When the soldiers were changing shifts early on a rainy Sunday evening, September 11, one of them did what others had threatened.

From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow

Remote communities, where the nearest town might be hundreds of kilometres away, can sometimes be bumped down the priority list for BC firefighting crews if there are blazes threatening more populated areas, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

The transformation is threatening advanced-manufacturing economies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

But in early 2018, ahead of a planned tour, Buckingham was fired from Fleetwood Mac after Nicks allegedly issued the band an ultimatum threatening to leave if he wasn’t cut.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

After earthquakes struck Emilia-Romagna in 2012, warehouses collapsed around hundreds of thousands of wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, threatening the livelihoods of the cheesemakers who depended on them.

From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026

Which is why he did what he did when Bryce pushed things too far with Drake and seemed to be threatening her.

From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone

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