threaten
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]threaten (third-person singular simple present threatens, present participle threatening, simple past and past participle threatened)
- To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
- 1904–1905, Baroness Orczy [i.e., Emma Orczy], “The Hocussing of Cigarette”, in The Case of Miss Elliott, London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, published 1905, →OCLC; republished as popular edition, London: Greening & Co., 1909, OCLC 11192831, quoted in The Case of Miss Elliott (ebook no. 2000141h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg of Australia, February 2020:
- No one, however, would have anything to do with him, as Mr. Keeson's orders in those respects were very strict ; he had often threatened any one of his employés with instant dismissal if he found him in company with one of these touts.
- 2022 August 13, Sarah Wu, David Kirton, Ben Blanchard, quoting Tsai Ing-wen, “Taiwan thanks U.S. for maintaining security in Taiwan Strait”, in Tom Hogue, Michael Perry, William Mallard, editors, Reuters[1], archived from the original on 13 August 2022, World:
- "Taiwanese are very enthusiastic and love freedom and democracy, so many good international friends have come to Taiwan to support us. This is a normal and good thing, but China threatens and intimidates Taiwan," she said.
"However, I would like to reassure everyone that both our government and the military are prepared, and I will definitely take care of Taiwan."
- He threatened me with a knife.
- To menace, or be dangerous.
- The rocks threatened the ship's survival.
- To portend, or give a warning of.
- Antonym: promise
- The black clouds threatened heavy rain.
- To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
- The new information threatened our original hypothesis.
- 2019 January 26, Kevin Seybold, “Does Science Threaten Belief?”, in Cathedral of Hope[2]:
- (figuratively) To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.)
- 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, →ISBN, page 69
- The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laughter.
- 2000, Lew Freedman, Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball Stories from Alaska, →ISBN, page 69
Usage notes
[edit]- This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See Appendix:English catenative verbs
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]to make a threat against someone; to use threats
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to menace, or be dangerous
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to portend, or give a warning of
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *trewd-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms suffixed with -en (inchoative)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛtn̩
- Rhymes:English/ɛtn̩/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English ergative verbs
- English raising verbs
- English reporting verbs