Threaten

To indicate an intention to cause harm or trouble; to be a danger to someone or something; to threaten with harm or negative consequences.

verb

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Imagine This

Imagine a figure stepping into a dim room, voice low and serious, saying, 'If you reveal the secret, there will be consequences.' The very idea of those consequences is the threat.

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Sounds Like

ˈθrɛtən (THRET-ən)

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Looks Like

threat (noun) – similar spelling and root

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Remember This

Remember this: threaten is the verb; threat is the noun. They share a root idea of danger, but threaten expresses the act or statement, while threat names the danger itself.

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Other Forms

threatnoun

threatenedverb

threateningadjective

threatsnoun

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Connect With

menace, endanger, imperil, warn, coerce

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Note

Use threaten with two common patterns: threaten to do something (threaten to leave, threaten to quit) and threaten someone with something (threaten the workers with a layoff, threaten them with fines). In passive constructions, the danger or consequence can be the subject: 'The project is threatened by delays.'

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Study Deeper

Examples

The bully threatened the younger students with detention if they told anyone.
Rising cyber threats threaten national security and personal data.

Synonyms

menaceendangerimperilintimidatecoerce

Antonyms

reassureprotectguarantee

Etymology

From Middle English threaten, derived from the noun threat and related to Old English threaht; the word is connected to other Germanic languages (e.g., Dutch dreigen, German drohen). The core idea is danger or harm that is implied or imminent.

Mnemonic

THREAT + EN = threaten. Imagine a threat gaining energy (EN) and becoming an action you must respond to; the EN turns a noun of danger into a verb of action.