threaten
verb (used with object)
to utter a threat against; menace.
was threatening
-
past progressiveof threaten.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Also included is an address Gay delivered last year about how donors’ push for power was threatening university independence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
A massive structure fire was threatening multiple businesses in Santa Clarita Monday morning and has already destroyed one building.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
That could be a tactical shift for an American president who, until recently, was threatening to unleash the most devastating strikes since World War II against Iran.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Kane - captain, inspiration and undisputed world-class operator - had rescued a World Cup campaign that was threatening to end in one of the worst humiliations in England history.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
And now it was a man named Yossarian who was threatening to make trouble over the sixty missions he had just ordered the men in his group to fly.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
