Synonyms of threatening

threatening 1 of 2

adjective

ˈthret-niŋ 

1

as in impending

giving signs of immediate occurrence

economists warning of a threatening recession

Synonyms & Similar Words

• impending
• looming
• possible
• imminent
• approaching
• brewing
• coming
• around the corner
• future
• pending
• nearing
• probable
• inevitable
• upcoming
• menacing
• forthcoming
• predicted
• ominous
• gathering
• likely
• unavoidable
• oncoming
• near
• apocalyptic
• expected
• anticipated
• portentous
• foreseen
• awaited
• lowering

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• distant
• remote
• past
• eventual
• ultimate
• former
• far-off
• recent
• late
• bygone

2

as in ominous

being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come

a threatening silence followed the loud thump in the adjoining motel room

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ominous
• sinister
• menacing
• darkening
• bleak
• dark
• lonely
• dire
• foreboding
• minatory
• ill
• somber
• portentous
• murky
• black
• inauspicious
• unfortunate
• depressing
• direful
• desolate
• baleful
• depressive
• unfavorable
• gray
• ill-boding
• doomy
• discouraging
• cold
• morbid
• dim
• troubled
• sullen
• morose
• gloomy
• cheerless
• dismal
• lonesome
• disheartening
• saturnine
• sepulchral
• chill
• funereal
• disconsolate
• lugubrious
• miserable
• elegiac
• malign
• dreary
• hopeless
• glum
• malignant
• unpropitious
• evil
• unpromising
• forlorn
• cloudy
• drear
• comfortless
• godforsaken
• unlucky
• plutonian
• wretched
• tenebrific
• tenebrous
• Cimmerian
• dreich
• ill-fated
• sunless
• ill-starred
• star-crossed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• favorable
• promising
• encouraging
• benign
• unthreatening
• bright
• golden
• prosperous
• hopeful
• auspicious
• propitious
• heartening

3

as in dangerous

involving potential loss or injury

threatening rocks lined that narrow stretch of the river through which we would be rafting

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dangerous
• hazardous
• risky
• perilous
• serious
• menacing
• unsafe
• precarious
• treacherous
• unhealthy
• jeopardizing
• grave
• grievous
• venturesome
• random
• detrimental
• destructive
• parlous
• uncertain
• fatal
• harmful
• unpleasant
• chance
• adverse
• sickening
• insecure
• bad
• lethal
• deadly
• distressing
• injurious
• killer
• murderous
• fell
• dicey
• ugly
• malignant
• haphazard
• nasty
• pernicious
• evil
• hurtful
• deleterious
• wicked
• inimical
• ultrahazardous
• noxious
• dire
• ill
• baneful
• fateful
• baleful
• deathly
• mortal
• pestilent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• safe
• harmless
• nonthreatening
• innocuous
• innocent
• beneficial
• good
• nonhazardous
• unthreatening
• advantageous
• ultrasafe

threatening

2 of 2

verb

present participle of threaten

as in menacing

to remain poised to inflict harm, danger, or distress on

the powerful hurricane continues to threaten the southern coastline

Synonyms & Similar Words

• menacing
• endangering
• hanging (over)
• hovering (over)
• impending (over)
• jeopardizing
• overhanging
• imperiling
• periling
• hazarding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of threatening

Adjective

The day after the accident, Fleig’s injury was determined to be serious but not life-threatening, the same outlet said. — Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Instead, they are designed for environments where replacing a battery is impossible, prohibitively expensive, or life-threatening. — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026

Verb

All those factors are sending bond yields to multi-decade highs, raising the cost of borrowing and threatening to slow economic growth. — David Goldman, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026

Hot flashes and night sweats are common symptoms of menopause that can become life threatening during extreme heat events and when cooling, hydration and hormone therapy are limited or unavailable. — Jaquelyn Jahn, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026