# threaten

Pronunciation: say "THRET-n" /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/

## Verb

1. To make a threat against a person, or to use threatening words or behavior.
   - Simple: To say you will hurt or punish someone if they do not do what you want.
   - _Protesters who threaten violence will be removed from the building._
   - _The letter threatened legal action unless the company paid the fine._
2. To act as a danger or menace to someone or something.
   - Simple: To be a danger to someone or something.
   - _Wildfires threaten thousands of homes across the region every summer._
   - _Rising floodwaters threatened the entire village within hours._
3. To be a warning sign of something bad that is likely to come.
   - Simple: To be a sign that something bad will probably happen soon.
   - _Gray skies threaten a storm later today._
   - _The grinding noise threatened a complete breakdown of the engine._
4. To undermine confidence in a belief, idea, or point of view by raising serious doubts about whether it holds.
   - Simple: To make people doubt whether a belief or idea is really true.
   - _These findings threaten long-held assumptions across the entire field._
   - _The discovery threatened a consensus that had stood for decades._
5. To come close to equaling or surpassing a record or similar mark.
   - Simple: To come very close to matching or beating a record.
   - _Forecasters say this week's heat wave could threaten the city's record high for October._
   - _The young sprinter threatened the world record in the hundred-meter final._

## Origin

From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian ("to urge, force, compel"), equivalent to "threat" plus the suffix "-en."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/threaten (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).