threaten

B2 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈθrɛtən/ UK /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/ See IPA manual

Freq #4559

Meanings

1

verb
To say that you will hurt or punish someone, especially to make them do what you want.

He threatened me when I tried to call the police.
2

verb
To be likely to cause harm or damage to something.

Rising sea levels threaten many coastal cities.
3

verb
To be a sign that something bad is about to happen.

Dark clouds threatened heavy rain.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 verb · to be likely to cause harm... peril endanger

Word family

Forms threatenedthreatens

Derived forms forethreatenthreateningthreatensome

Etymology

From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.

*trewd- Proto-Indo-European thretenen Middle English þrēatnian Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# threaten

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈθrɛtən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
**Frequency rank:** 4559

## Meanings
1. To say that you will hurt or punish someone, especially to make them do what you want.
2. To be likely to cause harm or damage to something.
3. To be a sign that something bad is about to happen.

## Examples
- He threatened me when I tried to call the police.
- Rising sea levels threaten many coastal cities.
- Dark clouds threatened heavy rain.

## Derived Forms
- forethreaten
- threatening
- threatensome

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *trewd-
- Root: thretenen
- Root: þrēatnian

## Etymology
From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.

## AI Etymology
Threaten is from Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en. The historical line also includes Proto-Indo-European *trewd-, Middle English thretenen, Old English þrēatnian. In present-day use, it can mean to say that you will hurt or punish someone, especially to make them do what you want, or to be likely to cause harm or damage to something. Derived formations include forethreaten, threatening, threatensome.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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