To save this word, you'll need to log in.
threat·ened | \ ˈthre-tᵊnd 
\
\Definition of threatened
: having an uncertain chance of continued survival
a threatened species specifically : likely to become an endangered species
Examples of threatened in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web The threatened penalty also comes as the city is seeing record unemployment numbers, with thousands furloughed or permanently laid off from hospitality jobs and restaurants due to the coronavirus restrictions and the general collapse of tourism.
—
Della Hasselle, NOLA.com, "No Phase 3 yet for New Orleans, so what's next? Possibly a Bourbon Street crackdown," 10 Sep. 2020 Still, 25,000 structures remained threatened and 330 have been destroyed, most of which in Santa Cruz County.
—
Chronicle Staff, SFChronicle.com, "California Wildfires: Live updates from August 25-26," 3 Sep. 2020 More than 100 homes have been destroyed and 50,000 more remain threatened.
—
Carter Evans, CBS News, "Wildfires continue to ravage California, prompting thousands to evacuate," 20 Aug. 2020 Since the show's debut in January 2019, Victoria and Eckhardt have faced serious legal troubles, and been slapped with stop-work orders and threatened license suspensions from the city of Chicago over a number of violations.
—
PEOPLE.com, "Windy City Rehab Premiere Reveals HGTV Stars Fell Out Over Shady Finances," 7 Sep. 2020 Still, more than 23,000 structures remain threatened.
—
Chronicle Staff, SFChronicle.com, "California Wildfires: Live updates from August 27-28," 30 Aug. 2020 You’re not supposed to feel threatened or afraid...
—
Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, "'I think he'd want us to do more': Astros protest injustice by boycotting game on Jackie Robinson Day," 29 Aug. 2020 The state Fish and Game Commission voted 5-0 for the species to become a candidate for threatened or endangered status under California’s Endangered Species Act.
—
Fox News, "California takes steps to protect leatherback sea turtles," 20 Aug. 2020 Statewide, 1,200 structures have been destroyed and another 30,000 remain threatened.
—
Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS News, "Historic California wildfires leave 7 people dead, more than 1 million acres burned," 25 Aug. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'threatened.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on threatened
What made you want to look up threatened? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
Challenging Vocabulary Quiz Returns!
- Which is a synonym of fuliginous?
Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridgedWords at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games
Share threatened
Time Traveler for threatened
The first known use of threatened was in 1960
See more words from the same year