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

Was fourth in this race a year ago and finished a non-threatening fifth in his only start this year in the Bango Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 27. — Danny Brewer, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

Emery believed Rashford at his best was one of the most threatening attackers in the world and backed himself and his support network to rejuvenate the player. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 22 July 2026

Verb

In addition to Ian’s evidence, APD also uncovered that the email address sending Angela those threatening messages had come from the couple’s condo, her cell phone and her father’s home in Arizona, per the District Attorney of Orange County. — Emily Blackwood, PEOPLE, 25 July 2026

At least 17 people are injured and several have life threatening injuries, according to Berlin police. — Chandelis Duster, NPR, 25 July 2026