THREATENS

Verb

threatens

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of threaten

Source: Wiktionary


THREATEN

Threat"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Threatened; p. pr. & vb. n. Threatening.] Etym: [OE. . 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. Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. Acts iv. 17.

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. The skies look grimly And threaten present blusters. Shak.

Syn.

– To menace.

– 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. By turns put on the suppliant and the lord: Threatened this moment, and the next implored. Prior. Of the sharp ax Regardless, that o'er his devoted head Hangs menacing. Somerville.

Threat"en, v. i.

Definition: To use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening appearance. Though the seas threaten, they are merciful. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

14 June 2025

FELLOW

(noun) a member of a learned society; “he was elected a fellow of the American Physiological Association”


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Coffee Trivia

The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.

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