ˈthret ə n verb
( threatened ; threatened ; threatening -t( ə )niŋ ; threatens )
Etymology: Middle English thretnen, thretenen, from Old English thrēatnian to force, from thrēat coercion + -nian -en
transitive verb
1. : to utter threats against : promise punishment, reprisal, or other distress to
threaten trespassers with arrest
2. archaic : to charge under pain of punishment : warn
let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name — Acts 4:17 (Authorized Version)
3. : to promise as a threat : hold out by way of menace or warning
threaten punishment to all trespassers
4.
a. : to give signs of the approach of (something evil or unpleasant) : indicate as impending : portend
the sky threatens storm
b. : to hang over as a threat : menace
famine threatens the city
5. : to announce as intended or possible
threaten to buy a car
intransitive verb
1. : to utter or use threats or menaces
2. : to have a menacing appearance : portend evil
though the seas threaten they are merciful — Shakespeare
Synonyms:
menace: threaten applies to the probable visitation of some evil or affliction; it may be used of attempts to dissuade by promising punishment or retribution
most of them lived on the margin of survival, constantly threatened by famine and disease — Arthur Geddes
another form of lying, which is extremely bad for the young, is to threaten punishments you do not mean to inflict — Bertrand Russell
discredit completely all other forms of Christianity, denying any efficacy to their rites, and threatening all their members with eternal damnation — W.R.Inge
menace may connote more deeply a dire, malignant, hostile, or fearful character or aspect
the devastating weapons which are at present being developed may menace every part of the world — Clement Attlee
the conviction that it was foreigners who menaced the American Way — Oscar Handlin