threaten

verb

threat·​en ˈthre-tᵊn 

threatened; threatening 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

ˈthret-nər 

ˈthre-tᵊn-ər

noun

Synonyms of threaten

• endanger
• menace

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 on the Web

One law lets local agencies impose fines of up to $50,000 per violation on companies that threaten public health and safety. — Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2026

In the previous weeks, Novoselic had threatened to break up the band if Cobain didn’t go to rehab. — Julie Tremaine, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2026

In one video, the artist interviews a public-affairs officer who had a mental break during Simon’s visit to a Department of Defense storage facility and threatened Simon and her team. — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2026

The turning point came last year, when China made the ultimate power move, threatening to choke off rare earths — and turn US factories dark — after Trump ramped up tariffs on Chinese goods to more than 140%. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 26 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for threaten

• kinetin
• tibetan

Kids Definition

threaten

verb

threat·​en ˈthret-ᵊn 

threatened; threatening ˈthret-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

1

: to utter threats : make threats against

threaten trespassers with arrest

2

: to give signs or warning of

clouds threatening rain

3

: to be an imminent danger to : menace

hunger threatens the town

4

: to announce as intended or possible

the workers threatened a strike

threatened to buy a car

5

: to cause to feel insecure or anxious

felt threatened by his friend's success

threateningly

ˈthret-niŋ-lē 

-ᵊn-iŋ-

adverb