threaten

[thret-n] /ˈθrɛt n/
verb (used with object)
1.
to utter a threat against; menace:
He threatened the boy with a beating.
2.
to be a menace or source of danger to:
Sickness threatened her peace of mind.
3.
to offer (a punishment, injury, etc.) by way of a threat:
They threatened swift retaliation.
4.
to give an ominous indication of:
The clouds threaten rain.
verb (used without object)
5.
to utter or use threats.
6.
to indicate impending evil or mischief.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English thretnen, Old English thrēatnian, derivative of thrēat pressure, oppression. See threat, -en1
Related forms
threatener, noun
outthreaten, verb (used with object)
prethreaten, verb (used with object)
rethreaten, verb
Synonyms
2. endanger.
Antonyms
2. protect, defend.
Examples from the web for threaten
  • Weight training is crucial, of course, but never so much as to threaten injury.
  • Yet, huge global risks threaten to impede the pace of innovation.
  • Opponents of the industry claim cod farming will add to coastal pollution and further threaten salmon and sea trout populations.
  • When temperatures threaten to dip below zero, bring the container into the garage or wrap it in a frost blanket.
  • But weather continues to threaten delay as wave after wave of tropical storms moves through the region.
  • Sometimes it is better to threaten a lawsuit rather than file one.
  • Deforestation and the introduction of dogs, cats and mongooses that eat solenodons threaten to drive the critters to extinction.
  • See how its diversions, dams, and drought have altered river flow and threaten to change the lives of millions of people.
  • These activities threaten the survival and faithful replication of chromosomes and, consequently, of the cells housing them.
  • The carriers argue that open phones would threaten the network.
British Dictionary definitions for threaten

threaten

/ˈθrɛtən/
verb
1.
(transitive) to be a threat to
2.
to be a menacing indication of (something); portend: dark clouds threatened rain
3.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object) to express a threat to (a person or people)
Derived Forms
threatener, noun
threatening, adjective
threateningly, adverb
Word Origin and History for threaten
v.

Old English þreatnian (see threat). Related: Threatened. Threatening in the sense of "portending no good" is recorded from 1520s.