Adjacent Words

Threat definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THREAT, n. thret. A menace; denunciation of ill; declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, loss or pain on another.
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats.
THREAT, v.t. thret. To threaten, which see. Threat is used only in poetry.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: something that is a source of danger; "earthquakes are a constant threat in Japan" [syn: menace, threat]
2: a warning that something unpleasant is imminent; "they were under threat of arrest"
3: declaration of an intention or a determination to inflict harm on another; "his threat to kill me was quite explicit"
4: a person who inspires fear or dread; "he was the terror of the neighborhood" [syn: terror, scourge, threat]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English thret coercion, threat, from Old English thr?at coercion; akin to Middle High German dr?z annoyance, Latin trudere to push, thrust Date: before 12th century 1. an expression of intention to inflict evil, injury, or damage 2. one that threatens 3. an indication of something impending <the sky held a threat of rain> II. verb Date: before 12th century archaic threaten

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a a declaration of an intention to punish or hurt. b Law a menace of bodily hurt or injury, such as may restrain a person's freedom of action. 2 an indication of something undesirable coming (the threat of war). 3 a person or thing as a likely cause of harm etc. Etymology: OE threat affliction etc. f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Threat Threat (thr[e^]t), n. [AS. [thorn]re['a]t, akin to [=a][thorn]re['o]tan to vex, G. verdriessen, OHG. irdriozan, Icel. [thorn]rj[=o]ta to fail, want, lack, Goth. us[thorn]riutan to vex, to trouble, Russ. trudite to impose a task, irritate, vex, L. trudere to push. Cf. Abstruse, Intrude, Obstrude, Protrude.] The expression of an intention to inflict evil or injury on another; the declaration of an evil, loss, or pain to come; menace; threatening; denunciation. There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Threat Threat, v. t. & i. [OE. [thorn]reten, AS. [thorn]re['a]tian. See Threat, n.] To threaten. [Obs. or Poetic] --Shak. Of all his threating reck not a mite. --Chaucer. Our dreaded admiral from far they threat. --Dryden.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(threats) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A threat to a person or thing is a danger that something unpleasant might happen to them. A threat is also the cause of this danger. Some couples see single women as a threat to their relationships... The Hurricane Center warns people not to take the threat of tropical storms lightly... N-VAR: with supp, oft N to/from n, N of n 2. A threat is a statement by someone that they will do something unpleasant, especially if you do not do what they want. He may be forced to carry out his threat to resign... The priest remains in hiding after threats by former officials of the ousted dictatorship... N-COUNT: usu with supp, oft N to-inf 3. If a person or thing is under threat, there is a danger that something unpleasant might be done to them, or that they might cease to exist. His position as leader will be under threat at a party congress due next month... She lives daily under threat of violence... PHRASE: oft PHR of/from n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Menace, denunciation.

Moby Thesaurus

admonishment, admonition, alarm, breakers ahead, cardhouse, cause for alarm, caution, caveat, commination, crisis, danger, dangerous ground, deterrent example, emergency, endangerment, example, final notice, final warning, foreboding, forewarning, gaping chasm, gathering clouds, hazard, hint, house of cards, imperilment, intimation, intimidation, jeopardy, lesson, menace, monition, moral, notice, notification, object lesson, omen, pass, peril, pinch, plight, portent, predicament, presage, quicksand, risk, rocks ahead, storm clouds, strait, thin ice, tip-off, ultimatum, verbum sapienti, warning, warning piece