threaten Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb pose a threat to; present a danger to
    jeopardise; peril; jeopardize; imperil; endanger; menace.
    • The pollution is endangering the crops
  2. verb to utter intentions of injury or punishment against:"He threatened me when I tried to call the police"
  3. verb to be a menacing indication of something:"The clouds threaten rain"
    • Danger threatens

WordNet

Threat"en transitive verb
Etymology
OE. retenen. See Threat, v. t.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Threatened ; present participle & verbal noun Threatening
Definitions
  1. 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.
    Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Acts iv. 17.
  2. 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. Milton.
    The skies look grimly And threaten present blusters. Shak.
    Syn. -- To menace. -- Threaten, Menace. Threaten is Anglo-Saxon, and menace is Latin. As often happens, the former is the more familiar term; the latter is more employed in formal style. We are threatened with a drought; the country is menaced with war.
    By turns put on the suppliant and the lord: Threatened this moment, and the next implored. Prior.
    Of the sharp ax Regardless, that o'er his devoted head Hangs menacing. Somerville.
Threat"en intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening appearance.
    Though the seas threaten, they are merciful. Shak.

Webster 1913