threaten

play

verb threat·en \ ˈthre-tᵊn \

Definition of threaten

threatened; threatening play \ˈthret-niŋ, ˈthre-tᵊn-iŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to utter threats against

2 a :to give signs or warning of :portend

the clouds threatened rain

b :to hang over dangerously :menace

famine threatens the city

3 :to announce as intended or possible

the workers threatened a strike

4 :to cause to feel insecure or anxious

felt threatened by his brother's success

intransitive verb

1 :to utter threats

2 :to portend evil

—

threatener

play \ˈthret-nər, ˈthre-tᵊn-ər\ noun

See threaten defined for English-language learners

See threaten defined for kids

Examples of threaten in a Sentence

The mugger threatened him with a gun.
She threatened to quit if they didn't give her a raise, but no one believed her.
Civil war has been threatening the country for years.
a marriage threatened by financial problems
Overfishing threatens the survival of certain fish species.
The latest news threatens trouble for the economy.

Recent Examples of threaten from the Web

That mistake helped produce the unstable peninsula that today threatens to spark the world’s first two-sided nuclear war.

— garrett epps, The Atlantic, "Trump Doesn't Have the Authority to Attack North Korea Without Congress," 30 Aug. 2017
Qd4!! threatens simply Qxd8 and there's no adequate defense: if 26...

— michael ciamarra, AL.com, "State chess championship preview, Sinquefield Cup brilliant game," 30 Aug. 2017
Guzman said the victim’s injury isn’t believed to be life-threatening and that detectives were waiting to speak with him at the hospital.

— charles rabin, miamiherald, "Robbery gone bad at hotel leaves man shot in the leg and suspects on the loose," 30 Aug. 2017
Trump's statement implies that military action remains an option in resolving the standoff over North Korea's development of nuclear weapons that could threaten the United States.

— latimes.com, "Trump on Texas response: 'We'll congratulate each other when it's all finished'," 29 Aug. 2017
Low incomes in one generation threaten to extend to the next.

— reihan salam, National Review, "The Case for Skills-Based Immigration," 28 Aug. 2017
In a letter to the attorney general's office, Jones defended his organization and threatened possible legal action against a Daily Southtown reporter.

— zak koeske, Daily Southtown, "State lawmaker's charity borrowed from political campaign, inconsistently filed reports," 25 Aug. 2017
When officers and deputies tried to arrest her about 6 p.m., Howard allegedly threatened them with a weapon.

— robert a. cronkleton, kansascity, "Fugitive woman killed in police shooting while officers serve arrest warrant in Olathe," 24 Aug. 2017
Investigating officers were able to determine that the threatening phone call was placed from a pay phone at the Shell gas station in the 1000 block of Middleton Road in Aberdeen.

— The Aegis, "Aberdeen Police investigating Frito-Lay bomb threat," 24 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'threaten.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of threaten

13th century

threaten Synonyms

Synonyms

hang (over), hover (over), impend (over), menace, overhang

Related Words

endanger, hazard, imperil, jeopardize, peril

THREATEN Defined for English Language Learners

threaten

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verb

Definition of threaten for English Language Learners

: to say that you will harm someone or do something unpleasant or unwanted especially in order to make someone do what you want
: to be something that is likely to cause harm to (someone or something) : to be a threat to (someone or something)