Adjacent Words

Threatening definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

THREATENING, ppr. thret'ning. Menacing; denouncing evil.
1. a. Indicating a threat or menace; as a threatening look.
2. Indicating something impending; as, the weather is threatening; the clouds have a threatening aspect.
THREATENING, n. thret'ning. The act of menacing; a menace; a denunciation of evil, or declaration of a purpose to inflict evil on a person or country, usually for sins and offenses. The prophets are filled with God's threatenings against the rebellious Jews. Acts 4.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; "a baleful look"; "forbidding thunderclouds"; "his tone became menacing"; "ominous rumblings of discontent"; "sinister storm clouds"; "a sinister smile"; "his threatening behavior"; "ugly black clouds"; "the situation became ugly" [syn: baleful, forbidding, menacing, minacious, minatory, ominous, sinister, threatening]
2: darkened by clouds; "a heavy sky" [syn: heavy, lowering, sullen, threatening]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Threaten Threat"en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Threatened; p. pr. & vb. n. Threatening.] [OE. [thorn]retenen. See Threat, v. t.] 1. To utter threats against; to menace; to inspire with apprehension; to alarm, or attempt to alarm, as with the promise of something evil or disagreeable; to warn. Let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. --Acts iv. 17. 2. To exhibit the appearance of (something evil or unpleasant) as approaching; to indicate as impending; to announce the conditional infliction of; as, to threaten war; to threaten death. --Milton. The skies look grimly And threaten present blusters. --Shak. Syn: To menace. Usage: Threaten, Menace. Threaten is Anglo-Saxon, and menace is Latin. As often happens, the former is the more familiar term; the latter is more employed in formal style. We are threatened with a drought; the country is menaced with war. By turns put on the suppliant and the lord: Threatened this moment, and the next implored. --Prior. Of the sharp ax Regardless, that o'er his devoted head Hangs menacing. --Somerville.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Threatening Threat"en*ing, a. & n. from Threaten, v. -- Threat"en*ing*ly, adv. Threatening letters (Law), letters containing threats, especially those designed to extort money, or to obtain other property, by menaces; blackmailing letters.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. You can describe someone's behaviour as threatening when you think that they are trying to harm you. The police could have charged them with threatening behaviour... ADJ: usu ADJ n • threateningly 'This ain't no affair of yours, boy!' McClosky said threateningly. ADV: usu ADV with v see also threaten, life-threatening

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Menacing, minatory, minacious, comminatory. 2. Impending, impendent, imminent. II. n. Commination, threat, denunciation, menace, menacing.

Moby Thesaurus

about to be, abusive, alarming, already in sight, apocalyptic, approaching, at hand, bad, baleful, baneful, black, bludgeoning, blustering, bodeful, boding, brewing, browbeating, bulldozing, bullying, close, close at hand, coming, comminatory, critical, dangerous, dangersome, dark, denunciatory, dire, doomful, dreary, evil, evil-starred, explosive, fateful, fear-inspiring, foreboding, forthcoming, fraught with danger, future, gathering, gloomy, going to happen, hectoring, ill, ill-boding, ill-fated, ill-omened, ill-starred, immediate, imminent, impendent, impending, in danger imminent, in prospect, in reserve, in store, in the cards, in the offing, in the wind, in view, inauspicious, instant, intimidating, jeopardous, looming, lowering, lurking, menacing, minacious, minatory, near, near at hand, nearing, of evil portent, ominous, on the horizon, overhanging, parlous, periculous, perilous, portending, portentous, preparing, serious, sinister, somber, terroristic, terrorizing, that will be, threatful, to come, ugly, unfavorable, unfortunate, unlucky, unpromising, unpropitious, untoward, upcoming, waiting