empty threat
noun
: a threat that someone does not really mean
Don't make empty threats that you have no intention of backing up with action.
… the Witch of the West looks, in this scene anyhow, curiously frail and impotent, obliged to mouth empty threats …—
Salman Rushdie
Salman RushdieExamples of empty threat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Suddenly, there was an opening to actually make good on those empty threats of collaboration.
—Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
Government officials worry Biden’s record of empty threats have given the Israelis a sense of impunity.
—Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 15 Jan. 2025
The status quo — an impasse where TikTok operates as normal with the seemingly empty threat of a ban hanging over its head — won’t be tenable for much longer.
—Vox Staff, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025
The pharmaceutical industry’s empty threats about innovation cannot continue to stand between Americans and affordable medication.
—Madeline Weil, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2025
Mouth-taping had long been the empty threat of spouses irked by their partner’s snoring, but now the TikTok tapers seal their own mouths voluntarily, looking for better sleep and more likes.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
Not surprisingly, that turned out to be an empty threat.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
Verstappen’s words aren’t an empty threat Forbes Daily: Join over 1 million Forbes Daily subscribers and get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Losing your temper, and leveling empty threats against your battling brood.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 29 June 2024
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Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
Government officials worry Biden’s record of empty threats have given the Israelis a sense of impunity.
—Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 15 Jan. 2025
The status quo — an impasse where TikTok operates as normal with the seemingly empty threat of a ban hanging over its head — won’t be tenable for much longer.
—Vox Staff, Vox, 10 Jan. 2025
The pharmaceutical industry’s empty threats about innovation cannot continue to stand between Americans and affordable medication.
—Madeline Weil, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2025
Mouth-taping had long been the empty threat of spouses irked by their partner’s snoring, but now the TikTok tapers seal their own mouths voluntarily, looking for better sleep and more likes.
—Matt Fuchs, TIME, 22 Nov. 2024
Not surprisingly, that turned out to be an empty threat.
—Rebecca Keegan, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Oct. 2024
Verstappen’s words aren’t an empty threat Forbes Daily: Join over 1 million Forbes Daily subscribers and get our best stories, exclusive reporting and essential analysis of the day’s news in your inbox every weekday.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
Losing your temper, and leveling empty threats against your battling brood.
—Melissa Willets, Parents, 29 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Empty threat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empty%20threat. Accessed 22 May. 2025.
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