From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthreatenthreat‧en /ˈθretn/ ●●● S3 W2 verb 1 [transitive]THREATEN to say that you will cause someone harm or trouble if they do not do what you want Postal workers are threatening a strike if they don’t receive a pay increase.threaten to do something He threatened to take them to court.threaten somebody with something Doctors are sometimes threatened with violence if they don’t do what patients want.threaten (that) Then he became angry and threatened that he would go to the police.2 [transitive]PROBABLY to be likely to harm or destroy something Poaching threatens the survival of the rhino.threaten to do something The incident threatens to ruin his chances in the election.be threatened with something Large areas of the jungle are now threatened with destruction.3 [intransitive, transitive] to be likely to happen or be in a bad situation Britain’s fishing industry remains threatened. Dark clouds threatened rain.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
threaten• All this is supposed to guarantee a sense of safety, but after Mr Safra's death, the image is threatened.• The unions threatened a further general strike on Aug. 22-23 if basic food subsidies and wages were not increased.• All liberties, in fact, threaten each other: one limits another, and later succumbs to a further rival.• Then he started threatening me and saying that my family might get hurt.• After threatening the manager with a knife, he stole £300 and ran off.• Pollution is threatening the marine life in the bay.• The February attack could mark a change of tactics which will really threaten the regime if there is an escalation.• A severe drought is threatening the rice crop.• Illegal hunting threatens the survival of the African Elephant.• According to some scientists, global warming threatens the survival of the whole human race.• By August, it was clear that the volcano could threaten the whole island.• When Rose was pregnant, Steve threatened to call the poor child after the book's narrator, Ishmael!• The dispute threatened to damage East-West relations.• But one night Hilda drowned herself in the lake, just as she had threatened to do.• When they found out he was an American, the soldiers threatened to kill him.• Somalia was again crippled by a drought that threatened to kill hundreds of thousands more.• Every time we have a quarrel, she threatens to leave me.• Flowers made an excellent save from Roy Keane three minutes later as United threatened to record a big win.• Our rainforests are being threatened with destruction, and the consequences will be severe.• I was threatened with jail if I published the story.threaten (that)• Chelmsford is one of only six local authorities nationwide which have threatened action.• Lack of rainfall means that they have survived intact for hundreds of years, though they are now being threatened by tourists.• The experience of possessing them lasted for less than a day and it threatened him with speedy death.• But the new strategy threatens not only combatants, but those coordinating attacks.• Acid rain, a product of coal combustion and automobile exhaust, is threatening our lakes and forests.• The current tuberculosis epidemic, which threatens the entire population with antibiotic-resistant strains, is the result of one such foolish cutback.• He held a loaded air pistol to her stepfather's neck and threatened to blow his head off.• Just like that, she was sucked into the whirlpool that was threatening to swallow the Olympics.be threatened with something• The miners, having refused to accept new agreements with reduced wages, were threatened with a lock-out front 31 July.• He reportedly not only was rebuffed, but was threatened with being drafted.• Two teenage boys were threatened with castration to force their Tesco manager father to take cash from his store safe.• But now Government cuts means the home is threatened with closure.• They said when they complained about the message, they were threatened with demotion and termination, ostracized and denied promotion.• But neither could they be threatened with expulsion from the institution.• Mr Berezovsky alleged he was threatened with imprisonment if he continued to defy Mr Putin.• Councils and other public agencies are threatened with tough penalties if they fail to improve. 