threatening
Americanadjective
-
tending or intended to menace.
threatening gestures.
-
causing alarm, as by being imminent; ominous; sinister.
threatening clouds.
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- nonthreatening adjective
- nonthreateningly adverb
- threateningly adverb
- unthreatening adjective
- unthreateningly adverb
Etymology
Origin of threatening
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.
Guinean security forces neutralised an armed group in the capital they said had "subversive intentions threatening national security", according to an official statement, a day before the country holds elections.
From Barron's
Each tour group maintained its distance from the blimp, anchored down by only its nose and threatening to move if the wind kicked up.
From Los Angeles Times
That kind of retrenching, from deep-pocketed corporate sponsors to individuals giving their spare change, is threatening to derail the careers of athletes such as McDermott-Mostowy, who relies on his family and a modest U.S.
From Los Angeles Times
California milk cartons may lose their coveted recycling symbol, the one with the chasing arrows, potentially threatening the existence of the ubiquitous beverage containers.
From Los Angeles Times
For some Snoopy enthusiasts, the high volume of Snoopy products borders on oversaturation, threatening to cheapen the spirit of the character.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
