threat
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An indication of potential or imminent danger.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
threhtIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθɹɛt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An indication of potential or imminent danger.
A person or object that is regarded as a danger; a menace.
An expression of intent to injure or punish another.
verb
transitive
To press; urge; compel.
intransitive
To use threats; act or speak menacingly; threaten.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An indication of potential or imminent danger.
Used this way, threat is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use threat
- “Earthquakes are a constant threat in Japan.”noun
- “They were under threat of arrest.”noun
- “His threat to kill me was quite explicit.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Pose a threat to.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to press
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.