as in to endanger
to remain poised to inflict harm, danger, or distress on
the powerful hurricane continues to threaten the southern coastline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in impending
giving signs of immediate occurrence
economists warning of a threatening recession
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of threaten
Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Many observers were perplexed that an eighty-two-year-old man with virtually unlimited access to medical care—and about whose health there has been virtually unlimited conjecture—could have gone undiagnosed until the cancer threatened his life.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 22 May 2025
Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 7 May 2025
For some millennials and the generations before them, childhood was peppered with intimidating and threatening phrases parents deployed regularly.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 6 May 2025
Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Palisades fire has garnered headlines, but the Hurst and Eaton fires have also been threatening very populated areas.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for threaten
Verb
Kaplan testified that Combs threatened his job on a monthly basis, once berating him for buying the wrong size bottled water.
—Michael R. Sisak, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Many observers were perplexed that an eighty-two-year-old man with virtually unlimited access to medical care—and about whose health there has been virtually unlimited conjecture—could have gone undiagnosed until the cancer threatened his life.
—Dhruv Khullar, New Yorker, 22 May 2025
Adjective
Jonathan Williams was charged with five counts of second-degree failure to appear, two counts of first-degree failure to appear and a single count of second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 7 May 2025
For some millennials and the generations before them, childhood was peppered with intimidating and threatening phrases parents deployed regularly.
—Elisabeth Sherman, Parents, 6 May 2025
Verb
Richard curses again, threatening Blum.
—Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 8 Jan. 2025
The Palisades fire has garnered headlines, but the Hurst and Eaton fires have also been threatening very populated areas.
—Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for threaten
Recent Examples of Synonyms for threaten
Adjective
-
Managers at Kid Rock’s Nashville restaurant told staff to go home on a busy Saturday night to avoid an impending raid by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, according to local reports.—
Muri Assunção,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2025
-
The connective tissue to the previous films takes the form of the late, great Tony Todd, who before his death in November reprised his role as a wise coroner offering guidance to our characters, frantic to halt their impending doom.—
Katie Walsh,
Los Angeles Times,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a shift in the second to last episode when Michaela suddenly becomes not ridiculous or ominous, but self-aware and human and someone who very clearly sees what a fraud her life has been.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
22 May 2025
-
In a small 18th-century English village, locals hear ominous barking.—
Shannon Carlin,
Time,
22 May 2025
Adjective
-
Cruise’s wing-walking sequence was somehow even more dangerous.—
Tyler Foggatt,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
-
Even ejecting from the aircraft can be dangerous and traumatic.—
Olivia B. Waxman,
Time,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
Though it was written around the time of Malibu’s Woolsey fire, the 14-minute long dirge that encompasses flames in Malibu and a cougar that roams the hills took on a new and sinister meaning in the aftermath of the more recent fires.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
19 May 2025
-
With the two men mismatched in temperament and direction, Diller was gone in a year and a half—fleeing one sinister Davis (Martin) for the arms of another, equally sinister one (Marvin), who controlled Twentieth Century Fox.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
The cities with some of the highest rates of poverty and the most people of color have borne the burden of the state’s hazardous waste facilities.—
Sarah McCoy,
Hartford Courant,
18 May 2025
-
For species such as the American elm, summer pruning is widely recognized as hazardous.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
But before the summer was over, the other hero of the tale would prove to be the reconciliation process that was making the legislative win possible — a process with its origins in quite a different era of relations between Congress and the president.—
Ron Elving,
NPR,
17 May 2025
-
Anything that is possible to make international cinema more accessible is necessary and welcome.—
Michelle Lee,
People.com,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
17 May 2025
-
The movie itself is something of a trip; everything feels coated in a faint, menacing sheen of unreality, as if a slasher movie were just a wild twist or two away.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
However, with most flights now offering antibacterial wipes and long-haul routes undergoing more extensive cleaning, the routine is arguably not much riskier than applying makeup at home.—
Isabelle Rodney,
CNN Money,
20 May 2025
-
However, bringing a drug to market is not only very expensive with a very lengthy payoff period, the business is also very risky.—
John C. Goodman,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Threaten.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/threaten. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
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