threaten
verb (used with object)
to utter a threat against; menace.
threatens
-
present tense formof threaten (3rd person singular).present tense
Used to describe things happening now or regularly.
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.
The Wall Street Journal’s Heather Somerville reports that a chronic shortage of explosives threatens the Pentagon’s agenda to replenish weapons stockpiles and arm troops with the unmanned systems that have come to define conflicts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
"Every major disaster threatens to erase years of development. And it forces a poor country to borrow money to repair damage it did not cause."
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
In a 2019 interview with Anderson Cooper, she observed, “He denies. He turns it around. He threatens, and he attacks.”
From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026
The overexploitation of parrotfish and other groupers threatens 63 percent of coral reef ecosystems.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
The damp, moldy smell beneath the stage threatens to choke me.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
