threaten

American  

[thret-n] / ˈθrɛt n /

verb (used with object)

• threatens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• threatened,
  past participle,  past
• threatening
  present participle

1. to utter a threat against; menace.

   He threatened the boy with a beating.

2. to be a menace or source of danger to.

   Sickness threatened her peace of mind.

   Synonyms:

   endanger

   Antonyms:

   defend, protect

3. to offer (a punishment, injury, etc.) by way of a threat.

   They threatened swift retaliation.

4. to give an ominous indication of.

   The clouds threaten rain.

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verb (used without object)

• threatens,
  present (3rd person singular)
• threatened,
  past participle,  past
• threatening
  present participle

1. to utter or use threats.

2. to indicate impending evil or mischief.

threaten British  

/ ˈθrɛtən /

verb

1. (tr) to be a threat to

2. to be a menacing indication of (something); portend

   dark clouds threatened rain

3. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to express a threat to (a person or people)

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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

• threatener
  noun
• rethreaten
  verb
• outthreaten
  verb (used with object)
• prethreaten
  verb (used with object)
• threatening
  adjective
• threateningly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• threatening
  present
• threatened
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• threaten
  simple
• threatens
  simple
• have threatened
  perfect
• has threatened
  perfect
• am threatening
  progressive
• are threatening
  progressive
• is threatening
  progressive
• have been threatening
  perfect progressive
• has been threatening
  perfect progressive

Past

• threatened
  simple
• had threatened
  perfect
• was threatening
  progressive
• were threatening
  progressive
• had been threatening
  perfect progressive

Future

• will threaten
  simple
• will have threatened
  perfect
• will be threatening
  progressive
• will have been threatening
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of threaten

First recorded before 1000; Middle English thretnen, Old English thrēatnian, derivative of thrēat “pressure, oppression”; equivalent to threat + -en ¹

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

threaten threatens threatened threatening

Google’s parent reported that its cloud revenue more than doubled, but investors were more concerned about the cash it’s spending on AI, and whether artificial intelligence could threaten the search business that funds it all.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

But calls also have increased in complexity to include reports of hazardous materials and widespread brush fires that threaten an increasingly large segment of people living in areas that abut wildlands, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

For businesses without much of a financial cushion, the loss of cash, stock or equipment can threaten their ability to pay staff, restock or keep operating.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

All he had to do was threaten to list his Palo Alto home for sale.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

Maybe he’ll even threaten to tell Poirot about it.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

"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 rapid spread threatens to eclipse the 2014-16 outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

It’s not wondering what I breathe in, but who, that threatens to choke me.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

Blevins’s bad-cop reputation gave his staff leverage: They threatened to call him in if contract terms weren’t to their liking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

During a head-spinning 22 months, the mercurial leader has turned spectacularly on Kyiv, imposed tariffs on allies and threatened to take Greenland.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

Ben Sulayem has previously threatened to introduce his own rules unilaterally in 2031.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Tell that to a generation of mathematicians and computer engineers, who may find themselves threatened.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

When he threatened to expose her, the medium confessed.

From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock

Some Airbnb hosts are threatening to quit the platform, raise their housekeeping fees or pare their rental properties down to the bare essentials rather than accept new restrictions on checkout chores.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Last year, Manhattan Associates “was left for dead,” Sen said, as investors were concerned that AI was threatening the company’s business, leading to a 34% decline in the stock.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Throughout daily life, people constantly exchange information about whether individuals, places, situations, and behaviors are threatening or safe.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026

The continuing limits on Ukrainian drone operations are threatening to undermine Kyiv’s campaign of medium-range drone strikes against Russian army logistics behind the front lines in eastern and southern Ukraine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

And it is a history of the paradoxes posed by an innocent-looking number, rattling even this century’s brightest minds and threatening to unravel the whole framework of scientific thought.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife

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Related Words

• intimidate
• menace
• scare

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