What does Threaten mean?

Definitions for Threaten
ˈθrɛt nthreat·en

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Threaten.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. endanger, jeopardize, jeopardise, menace, threaten, imperil, perilverb

    pose a threat to; present a danger to

    "The pollution is endangering the crops"

  2. threatenverb

    to utter intentions of injury or punishment against:"He threatened me when I tried to call the police"

  3. threatenverb

    to be a menacing indication of something:"The clouds threaten rain"

    "Danger threatens"

Wiktionary

  1. threatenverb

    To make a threat against someone; to use threats.

    He threatened me with a knife.

  2. threatenverb

    To menace, or be dangerous.

    The rocks threatened the ship's survival.

  3. threatenverb

    To portend, or give a warning.

    The black clouds threatened heavy rain.

  4. Etymology: From þreaten or þreten, from þrēatian.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Threat, To Threatenverb

    threat is seldom used but in poetry.

    Etymology: þreatian , Saxon:

    Death to be wish’d
    Though threaten’d, which no worse than this can bring. John Milton.

    What threat you me with telling of the king?
    Tell him and spare not. William Shakespeare, Richard III.

    That it spread no further, straitly threaten them that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Acts iv. 18.

    The void profound
    Wide gaping, and with utter loss of being
    Threatens him. John Milton.

    Æneas their assault undaunted did abide,
    And thus to Lausus, loud with friendly threat’ning cry’d. John Dryden, Virgil.

    This day black omens threat the brightest fair,
    That e’er deserv’d a watchful spirit’s care. Alexander Pope.

    Void of fear,
    He threaten’d with his long protended spear. Dryden.

    The noise increases as the billows roar,
    When rowling from afar they threat the shore. Dryden.

Wikipedia

  1. threaten

    A threat is a communication of intent to inflict harm or loss on another person. Intimidation is a tactic used between conflicting parties to make the other timid or psychologically insecure for coercion or control. The act of intimidation for coercion is considered as a threat. Threatening or threatening behavior (or criminal threatening behavior) is the crime of intentionally or knowingly putting another person in fear of bodily injury. "Threat of harm generally involves a perception of injury...physical or mental damage...act or instance of injury, or a material and detriment or loss to a person."Some of the more common types of threats forbidden by law are those made with an intent to obtain a monetary advantage or to compel a person to act against their will. In most US states, it is an offense to threaten to (1) use a deadly weapon on another person; (2) injure another's person or property; or (3) injure another's reputation.

ChatGPT

  1. threaten

    To threaten means to express an intention to inflict harm, injury, damage, or other hostile action on someone, often as a way of coercing or intimidating them. It can also refer to indicating or suggesting the possibility or likelihood of something undesirable or harmful happening in the future.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Threatenverb

    to utter threats against; to menace; to inspire with apprehension; to alarm, or attempt to alarm, as with the promise of something evil or disagreeable; to warn

  2. Threatenverb

    to exhibit the appearance of (something evil or unpleasant) as approaching; to indicate as impending; to announce the conditional infliction of; as, to threaten war; to threaten death

  3. Threatenverb

    to use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening appearance

Editors Contribution

  1. threaten

    Warn someone strongly with the intention of harming them as a means to get something done.

    Don't threaten him so much, he might faint. My boss threatened me that if I dint do as he said, he will spoil my career.


    Submitted by anonymous on March 3, 2019  

British National Corpus

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Threaten' in Verbs Frequency: #306

How to pronounce Threaten?

How to say Threaten in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Threaten in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Threaten in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

Examples of Threaten in a Sentence

  1. The White House:

    President Obama, Dems threaten shutdown as funding deadline looms - WashEx :.

  2. Fatih Birol:

    Such a decline in global investment for renewables and energy efficiency combined is worrying, this could threaten the expansion of clean energy needed to meet energy security, climate and clean air goals. While we would need this investment to go up rapidly, it is disappointing to find that it might be falling this year.

  3. Brad Raffensperger:

    This is not acceptable behavior to threaten the wives, the children, the family of people that work for the government or even the government workers, they didn't sign up for this.

  4. Mary Njoki Wainaina:

    I tell her, 'Do not be bought sugar because you are going to pay for it with something else which will be bad, i can look at a person and tell if they have a bad intention. There is no one who can threaten me.

  5. Gwen Carr:

    No matter what he did, he wasn't doing anything to threaten them, so why would they kill that young man ? Just like they killed my son.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Threaten#10000#13701#100000

Translations for Threaten

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"Threaten." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Threaten>.

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