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Threaten - 4 dictionary results

threat⋅en

  [thret-n]
Use Threaten in a Sentence
–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:
bef. 1000; ME thretnen, OE thrēatnian, deriv. of thrēat pressure, oppression. See threat, -en 1

Related forms:
threat⋅en⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
2. endanger.

Antonyms:
2. protect, defend.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Threaten
threat·en   (thrět'n)   
v.   threat·ened, threat·en·ing, threat·ens

v.   tr.
  1. To express a threat against.
  2. To be a source of danger to; menace.
  3. To give signs or warning of; portend.
  4. To announce the possibility of in a threat.
v.   intr.
  1. To express or use threats.
  2. To indicate danger or harm.
threat'en·er n., threat'en·ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Threaten

Threat"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Threatened; p. pr. & vb. n. Threatening.] [OE. [thorn]retenen. See Threat, v. t.]

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.

Usage: 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.

Threaten

Threat"en\, v. i. To use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening appearance.

Though the seas threaten, they are merciful. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Threaten
Spanish: amenazar,
German: drohen,
Japanese: おどかす
More Translations »
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