How to Use threaten in a Sentence

threaten

verb
  • The mugger threatened him with a gun.
  • She threatened to quit if they didn't give her a raise, but no one believed her.
  • Civil war has been threatening the country for years.
  • The latest news threatens trouble for the economy.
  • Overfishing threatens the survival of certain fish species.
  • And the wrong way is to scream, threaten and storm off.
    — Christopher Elliott, USA TODAY, 3 June 2022
  • Maduro and his cadres have threatened to lock up both of them.
    — Jorge Rueda and Regina Garcia Cano, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2024
  • The Washburn fire is only the latest to threaten the beloved trees.
    — Christine Fernando, USA TODAY, 9 July 2022
  • Also, it’s not just the spills that threaten coastal ecosystems and economies, and ways of life.
    — Daphne Ewing-Chow, Forbes, 28 June 2022
  • The sections with sticky, sloppy mud and hog ruts threatened to take the shoes right off our feet.
    — Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2024
  • Later in the episode, Spears got emotional again and threatened to quit the show.
    — Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023
  • Some fans will threaten players children in front of any kids in the stands.
    — Bobby Nightengale, USA TODAY, 27 Aug. 2022
  • Some fans will threaten players' children in front of any kids in the stands.
    — The Enquirer, 27 Aug. 2022
  • World & Nation Trump threatens to try to take back the Panama Canal.
    — Will Weissert, Los Angeles Times, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The woman said Marchetti killed her dog and threatened to kill her next.
    — Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 21 June 2024
  • When a guard threatened to shoot, the group backed off and Ms. Stafford felt her resolve deflate.
    — Lynsey Chutel Gulshan Khan, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023
  • But there are some risks that threaten De Haan’s outlook.
    — Krystal Hur, CNN, 28 May 2023
  • Critics had warned that the change could lead to chaos, or even threaten the city’s credit rating.
    — Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 29 June 2022
  • That sounds like a lot, but the sum so far has not appeared to threaten U.S. economic growth.
    — Fatima Hussein, Fortune, 3 Jan. 2024
  • The Bombers’ bullpen depth, meanwhile, has been threatened by a handful of injuries.
    — Gary Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Then there is the island itself, shaped by the seasons and threatened by the hostile nature.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 13 Nov. 2023
  • Even when guns are not lethal, research shows they are used by abusers to threaten victims.
    — Abigail Higgins, Washington Post, 14 June 2022
  • Shoutout to the 38 Republicans who shot the bill down in the House while being threatened & blackmailed.
    — Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The vice president would not have been threatened with a hanging.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 22 Jan. 2025
  • Snowfall in New Orleans threatened a record set 130 years ago.
    — John Bacon, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
  • If the sky becomes threatening and thunder can be heard, find a safe place to shelter.
    — Nc Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 11 Mar. 2025
  • By the time the 80th minute rolled around, France had yet to seriously threaten the Albiceleste.
    — Sean Gregory, Time, 18 Dec. 2022
  • When disaster threatens, her new friends — a pile of rocks, a rabbit, a cactus, the motel desk clerks— save the day.
    — Staff Author, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2023
  • Severe thunderstorms threatened a swath of the country with a population of 2.3 million people from northeast Texas through Arkansas and into southeast Missouri.
    — Andrew Demillo, Chicago Tribune, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Senior Iranian officials are threatening to ramp up the country's nuclear program as the Trump administration weighs a possible strike against the regime if Tehran does not come to the table for negotiations.
    — Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 4 Apr. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'threaten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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