Synonyms of threaten

threaten 1 of 3

verb (1)

ˈthre-tᵊn 

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

• endanger
• menace
• hang (over)
• jeopardize
• imperil
• hover (over)
• impend (over)
• overhang
• hazard
• peril

threatening

2 of 3

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

3 of 3

verb (2)

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 threaten

Verb

Police and military personnel forcibly disappeared, arbitrarily detained, beat and threatened opposition members, lawyers, journalists and government critics, the report said. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

Newsom’s support for the deal came after Paramount threatened to move operations to Tennessee or Texas, placing more pressure on Bonta to come to an agreement and blunt efforts to lose California’s signature industry. — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

Adjective

Dante Milne, 25, allegedly sent the threatening message Saturday while aboard United Airlines Flight 1681, a Boeing 737 carrying 150 passengers and six crew members from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey. — Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2026

The woman who was shot suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said. — Daily Herald, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026

Verb

And not have the threat of the SEC, which is threatening LSU. — Trey Wallace Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

But the Green Man of legend – a glowing, threatening figure with supernatural powers who supposedly lived in a tunnel – was not. — Jeffrey Tolbert, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2026