threaten

Verb

Verb Forms: threatened, threatening, threatens

• To indicate impending danger or harm to someone.
• pose a threat to; present a danger to
• to utter intentions of injury or punishment against:
  • "He threatened me when I tried to call the police"
• to be a menacing indication of something:
  • "The clouds threaten rain"
  • "Danger threatens"
• To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
• To menace, or be dangerous.
• To portend, or give a warning of.
• To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
• To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)

Examples

• A good Scrabble player can THREATEN several triple-word scores simultaneously.
• He threatened me with a knife.
• The black clouds threatened heavy rain.
• The new information threatened our original hypothesis.
• The rocks threatened the ship's survival.

Synonyms

endanger, imperil, jeopardise, jeopardize, menace, peril

Antonyms

promise