threaten

threaten — verb

1. to say clearly that you will harm, punish, or otherwise trouble another person u

1.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to say clearly that you will harm, punish, or otherwise trouble another person unless they agree to your demands

Example

Bilal threatened the shopkeeper with a knife if he did not hand over the money in the register.

threaten + object + with + noun (instrument or consequence)

The warehouse manager threatened to fire anyone who arrived late during the holiday rush.

threaten + to-infinitive

Common collocations
  • threaten someone with violence
  • threaten legal action
  • threaten to resign
  • threaten to quit
  • openly threaten
  • repeatedly threaten
Synonyms
  • intimidate

    focuses on making someone feel afraid rather than stating a consequence; slightly more formal

  • bully

    implies repeated, habitual threatening of a weaker person, often in a school or workplace setting

  • menace

    more dramatic and literary; can be used without words (his presence menaced the room)

  • coerce

    emphasises forcing someone to act through threats or pressure; more formal

Antonyms
  • protect

    to keep someone safe instead of putting them in danger

  • encourage

    to give someone confidence or motivation through positive means rather than fear

Grammar Patterns

threaten + noun phrase (person)

threaten + to-infinitive

threaten + noun phrase + with + noun phrase

threaten + that-clause

Usage Note

Common patterns: the person being threatened is the direct object (threaten + someone). What you will do can be expressed with a to-infinitive (threaten to hurt someone) or a that-clause (threatened that he would...). The thing you will use to harm is introduced by with (threaten someone with a knife / with legal action).

Common Mistakes

He threatened to her.
He threatened her.
threaten takes a direct object without 'to'.
She threatened me to go.
She threatened to hurt me if I did not go.
to express what you will do, use 'threaten to' + verb or 'threaten someone with something', not 'threaten someone to' + verb.
The robber threatened with a gun.
The robber threatened the cashier with a gun.
when saying what someone used to threaten, you must name the person being threatened before the 'with' phrase.

2. to put something or someone in danger of being harmed, damaged, or lost

2.verbtransitiveB1
Definition

to put something or someone in danger of being harmed, damaged, or lost

Example

Rising sea levels threaten the homes of millions of people living along the coast.

threaten + noun phrase (entity at risk from nature)

Air pollution in the city threatens the health of young children and elderly residents most severely.

Common collocations
  • threaten the survival of
  • threaten the future of
  • threaten public safety
  • threaten national security
  • threaten biodiversity
  • seriously threaten
Synonyms
  • endanger

    nearly identical in meaning, but slightly more formal and specific to life-or-death situations

  • jeopardize

    emphasises putting a plan, project, or outcome at risk; often used in business contexts

  • imperil

    more formal and literary; almost always used for serious, life-threatening situations

Antonyms
  • protect

    to keep something or someone safe from harm

  • safeguard

    to take active measures to prevent harm or risk

Grammar Patterns

threaten + noun phrase (entity at risk)

threaten + noun phrase + with + noun phrase (consequence)

Usage Note

The subject is always a situation, process, or phenomenon (pollution, war, development, disease), not a person acting deliberately. The sense does not take a to-infinitive or that-clause. The with + noun pattern specifies the potential outcome (threaten a species with extinction).

Common Mistakes

The storm threatens the city to flood.
The storm threatens the city with flooding.
this sense does not take a to-infinitive; use 'threaten + object + with + noun' instead.
My boss threatens my job.' (when meaning boss might fire you)
My job is threatened by budget cuts.
a person acting deliberately belongs in sense 1; use sense 2 for impersonal dangers.

3. when an unpleasant event seems likely to occur soon, often giving warning throug

3.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

when an unpleasant event seems likely to occur soon, often giving warning through visible signs

Example

Dark clouds gathered over the valley and threatened to bring a heavy thunderstorm by evening.

threaten to do (weather as subject)

The conflict between the two neighbouring countries threatens to turn into a full-scale war.

Common collocations
  • threaten to become
  • threaten to bring
  • threaten to destroy
  • threaten to collapse
  • threaten to erupt
Synonyms
  • look likely to

    more neutral and less dramatic; used in everyday speech without the sense of danger

  • be on the verge of

    emphasises that the event is very close; works for both good and bad events

  • portend

    very formal and literary; implies a mysterious or ominous sign of future events

Grammar Patterns

threaten + to-infinitive (bad event about to happen)

Usage Note

The subject is never a person — it is always an impersonal situation or force (weather, conflict, economic trouble). Only takes the to-infinitive pattern; does not take a direct object or a that-clause. Common with verbs like become, bring, destroy, collapse, erupt, spill over.

Common Mistakes

He threatens to rain.
The sky threatens to rain.
the subject must be an impersonal condition (the sky, the weather, the situation), not a person acting deliberately.
The storm threatens that it will flood.
The storm threatens to flood the town.
this sense does not take a that-clause; use the to-infinitive pattern.

Word family

  • threat
    nounB1
  • threatening
    adjectiveB1
  • threateningly
    adverbB2
  • threatened
    adjectiveB2
  • unthreatening
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Threaten is the most general word for telling someone you will harm them if they do not obey. Intimidate focuses on creating fear through words or actions, often without stating a specific consequence — a witness might be intimidated into silence. Bully implies repeated, systematic threatening of a weaker person, typically in schools or workplaces, and often includes physical or verbal humiliation. Menace has a more dramatic, literary tone and can describe a looming danger that may not be expressed in words at all (a storm menaces the coast). Coerce specifically means to force someone to act against their will through threats or pressure, and is common in formal, legal, or political contexts. For example, a gangster threatens a shopkeeper, but a government coerces a rival nation through economic sanctions.

intimidate ↗bully ↗menacecoerce

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • threaten someone with something
  • threaten to do something

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Threaten comes from Old English þreatnian, meaning 'to press, urge, or force'. This verb grew out of the noun þreat ('a crowd, pressure, or threat'), which is related to Old High German drôa ('threat') and Old Norse þraut ('hard task, trouble'). In early use, threaten carried a sense of physical pressure or crowding, but by Middle English it had shifted to focus on verbal intimidation and warnings of harm.