threatening
adjective
threat·en·ing
ˈthret-niŋ 
ˈthre-tᵊn-iŋ
: expressing or suggesting a threat of harm, danger, etc.
received a threatening message
a threatening manner
: indicating or suggesting the approach of possible trouble or danger
saw threatening clouds on the horizon
Examples of threatening in a Sentence
economists warning of a threatening recession
a threatening silence followed the loud thump in the adjoining motel room
threatening rocks lined that narrow stretch of the river through which we would be rafting
Recent Examples on the Web
There hasn’t been much threatening beyond the top two lines, not with McMann struggling to score and Nick Robertson, seventh on the team in goals during the regular season, out of the lineup.
—
Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Brower was arrested and transported to Troop E where he was processed and charged with first-degree threatening display of a firearm and second-degree breach of peace.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2025
Officials found the child pornography after an investigation was launched into a threatening call made to a person involved with the search for two missing teens in Colorado, prosecutors said.
—Sara Schilling, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2025
The risks and costs of this crisis are a thousand times more threatening to our country than COVID-19.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for threatening
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Jonas Siegel, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Brower was arrested and transported to Troop E where he was processed and charged with first-degree threatening display of a firearm and second-degree breach of peace.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 28 Apr. 2025
Officials found the child pornography after an investigation was launched into a threatening call made to a person involved with the search for two missing teens in Colorado, prosecutors said.
—Sara Schilling, Miami Herald, 25 Apr. 2025
The risks and costs of this crisis are a thousand times more threatening to our country than COVID-19.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for threatening
Cite this Entry
“Threatening.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/threatening. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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