threatening

[ thret-n-ing ]

adjective

1. tending or intended to menace:

   threatening gestures.

2. causing alarm, as by being imminent; ominous; sinister:

   threatening clouds.

Other Words From

• threaten·ing·ly adverb
• non·threaten·ing adjective
• non·threaten·ing·ly adverb
• un·threaten·ing adjective
• un·threaten·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of threatening¹

First recorded in 1520–30; threaten + -ing ²

Synonym Study

See imminent, ominous.

Example Sentences

Then, the robbers would suddenly turn on their victims, brandishing a handgun, threatening them with physical force and demanding they get in the car, police said.

From Los Angeles Times

The extremist settler who runs it, Zvi Bar Yosef, was sanctioned this year by the UK and other Western governments for repeated acts of violence against Palestinians, including twice threatening families at gunpoint.

From BBC

But the front line creeps ever closer, with Russia also threatening to encircle defenders from the north and west.

From BBC

The “digital arrest” scam involves fraudsters impersonating law enforcement officials on video calls, threatening victims with arrest over fake charges, and pressuring them to transfer large sums of money.

From BBC

Finally, more than a year after the crime was reported, the constable told me the suspect would be charged with an offence of malicious communications by sending an offensive, indecent or threatening message.

From BBC

Related Words

• aggressive
• alarming
• cautionary
• dangerous
• dire
• sinister
• ugly