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.
[1913 Webster]
Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak
henceforth to no man in this name. --Acts iv. 17.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
The skies look grimly
And threaten present blusters. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
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.
[1913 Webster]
By turns put on the suppliant and the lord:
Threatened this moment, and the next implored.
--Prior.
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Of the sharp ax
Regardless, that o'er his devoted head
Hangs menacing. --Somerville.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Threaten \Threat"en\, v. i.
To use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening
appearance.
[1913 Webster]
Though the seas threaten, they are merciful. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
threaten
v 1: pose a threat to; present a danger to; "The pollution is
endangering the crops" [syn: endanger, jeopardize, jeopardise,
menace, imperil, peril]
2: to utter intentions of injury or punishment against:"He
threatened me when I tried to call the police"
3: to be a menacing indication of something:"The clouds
threaten rain"; "Danger threatens"
WordNet (r) 2.0
144 Moby Thesaurus words for "threaten":
abuse, admonish, advise, afflict, aggrieve, alert, anticipate,
apprehend, approach, augur, await, be destined, be fated,
be imminent, be in store, be to be, be to come, befoul, bewitch,
blight, bludgeon, bluster, bluster out of, bode, brew, browbeat,
bulldoze, bully, caution, come, come on, comminate, condemn,
confront, corrupt, cow, croak, crucify, cry havoc, curse, damage,
daunt, defile, demoralize, denounce, deprave, despoil, destroy,
disadvantage, disserve, distress, do a mischief, do evil, do ill,
do wrong, do wrong by, doom, dragoon, draw near, draw nigh,
draw on, endanger, envenom, expect, face, forebode, foresee,
foretell, forewarn, forthcome, gather, get into trouble,
give fair warning, give notice, give warning, hang over, harass,
harm, have a premonition, have a presentiment, hector, hex, hope,
hover, huff, hurt, impair, impend, imperil, infect, injure,
intimidate, issue an ultimatum, jeopardize, jinx, lie ahead,
lie over, look black, look for, look forward to, look threatening,
loom, lower, maltreat, menace, mistreat, molest, near, notify,
outrage, overhang, persecute, plan, play havoc with, play hob with,
plot, poison, pollute, portend, preapprehend, predict, prejudice,
presage, project, prophesy, put in jeopardy, savage, scathe,
sound the alarm, systematically terrorize, taint, terrorize, tip,
tip off, torment, torture, utter a caveat, utter threats against,
violate, warn, warn against, wound, wreak havoc on, wrong
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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