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 Word Forms

• threateningly adverb
• nonthreatening adjective
• nonthreateningly adverb
• unthreatening adjective
• unthreateningly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of threatening¹

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

Synonym Study

See imminent, ominous.

Example Sentences

Defence minister Israel Katz said on Friday that Israeli military activity would "intensify" until Hamas accepted Israel's conditions to end the war, threatening that the armed group would be "destroyed" otherwise.

From BBC

For the neutrals, London City Lionesses are an explosive addition to the WSL, a side who are threatening to disrupt the usual order.

From BBC

Two days later, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department received a report about the threatening emails and arrested Richardson.

From Los Angeles Times

He pointed to the danger of drones in the hands of organized crime, “threatening states, threatening security forces.”

From Los Angeles Times

It burned through around a quarter of an acre of vegetation as it moved uphill, briefly threatening nearby homes.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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