Dictionary

threaten

Etymology

From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian, equivalent to .

Pronunciation

Verb

threaten (threatens, present participle threatening; simple past and past participle threatened)

To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
- 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette ↗”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC ↗; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831 ↗, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
  No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts.
He threatened me with a knife.
To menace, or be dangerous.
The rocks threatened the ship's survival.
To portend, or give a warning of.
Antonyms: promise
The black clouds threatened heavy rain.
To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
The new information threatened our original hypothesis.
(figuratively) To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)
- 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, ISBN 0945397828, page 69
  The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laughter.

Translations

Translations

Translations

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