threat en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /fɹɛt/ th-fronting
- /θɾɛt/ (Scotland, Wales)
- thrĕt (Received-Pronunciation, US)
- /tɹɛt/ (Ireland)
- /θɹɛt/ (Received-Pronunciation, US)
- /θɹet/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
- (US) audio
Etymology
From Middle English threte, thret, thrat, thræt, threat, from Old English þrēat (“crowd, swarm, troop, army, press; pressure, trouble, calamity, oppression, force, violence, threat”), from Proto-Germanic *þrautaz, closely tied to Proto-Germanic *þrautą (“displeasure, complaint, grievance, labour, toil”), from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to squeeze, push, press”). Cognate with Scots thret, threte, threit (“threat”), Middle High German drōz (“annoyance, disgust, horror, terror, fright”), Middle Low German drōt (“threat, menace, danger”), Faroese treyt (“struggle, labour, distress”), Icelandic þraut (“struggle, labour, distress”), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Russian, and Ukrainian труд (trud, “work, labour”), Czech trud (“effot, hard work”), Polish trud (“hard work”), Serbo-Croatian trȗd (“effort, hard work”).
Meanings
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An expression of intent to injure or punish another.
There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats.
1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:At the height of the crisis, according to a retired SAC wing commander, SAC airborne alert bombers deliberately flew past their turnaround points toward Soviet airspace, an unambiguous threat which Soviet radar operators would certainly have recognized and reported. "I knew what my target was," the SAC general adds: "Leningrad." The bombers only turned around when the Soviet freighters carrying missiles to Cuba stopped dead in the Atlantic.
1995, Richard Rhodes, “Scorpions in a Bottle”, in Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 575:
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An indication of potential or imminent danger.
Verifying and addressing actual threats is not paranoia.
Many genes with reproductive roles also have antibacterial and immune functions, which indicate that the threat of microbial attack on the sperm or egg may be a major influence on rapid evolution during reproduction.
2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:Taiwan is monitoring what it called "abnormal" changes to China's military leadership after its most senior general was put under investigation, and will not lower its guard as the threat level remains high, the defence minister said on Monday.
2026 January 26, Ben Blanchard, Roger Tung, “Taiwan monitoring 'abnormal' China military leadership changes after top general put under investigation”, in Michael Perry, editor, Reuters, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2026:
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A person or object that is regarded as a danger; a menace.
Rooney's United team-mate Chris Smalling was given his debut at right-back and was able to adjust to the international stage in relatively relaxed fashion as Bulgaria barely posed a threat of any consequence.
2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:Japan applauds NATO’s identification of China as a threat in the Strategic Concept. The document notes that China poses “systemic challenges” and declared the “deepening strategic partnership” between Moscow and Beijing as one of its main priorities. Significantly, it explained that developments in distant theaters can “directly affect” trans-Atlantic security.
2022 July 1, The Japan Times Editorial Board, “Groundbreaking NATO summit means work for Japan”, in The Japan Times, archived from the original on 01 Jul 2022, Editorials:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| threats | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
threatsome · triple threat · immunothreat · threatless · biothreat · stereotype threat · threatproof · nonthreat · idle threat · death threat · threatspot · empty threat · counterthreat · threatful · cyberthreat · threatmate · threat actor · second-order threat · threatscape · throffer
Hyponyms
sabre-rattling · extortion · ultimatum · blackmail
Relateds
or else · threatening · danger · threaten · omen
Synonyms
menace · threat · intimidation · warning
Translations (173)
ro amenințare (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · km ការគំរាមកំហែង (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · prs تَهْدِید (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · km សំដីឈ្លានពាន (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · de Bedrohung (indication of imminent danger) · pl zagrożenie (person regarded as a danger) · de Drohung (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · el απειλή (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · hi धमकी (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kea amiasa (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · mg fandrahonana (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · nl dreiging (indication of imminent danger) · nl bedreiging (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · eo minaco (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pdt Jedreiw (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · gd bagairt (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · is hótun (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · cs ohrožení (indication of imminent danger) · nn trussel (indication of imminent danger) · sv hot (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ceb hulga (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · el απειλή (person regarded as a danger) · fr danger public (person regarded as a danger) · ky коркунуч (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · jv inciman (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sw tisho (indication of imminent danger) · gl ameaza (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · vi mối hiểm hoạ (person regarded as a danger) · fi uhka (indication of imminent danger) · mn занал (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh prijétnja (indication of imminent danger) · nl dreigement (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · uk загро́за (indication of imminent danger) · ca amenaça (indication of imminent danger) · fr menace (indication of imminent danger) · cs hrozba (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sv hot (person regarded as a danger) · lt grasinimas (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · lv draudi (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · et ähvardus (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sv hot (indication of imminent danger) · ko 위험 (indication of imminent danger) · fa-ira تَهْدید (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · la minātiō (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · grc ἀπειλή (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ru опа́сность (indication of imminent danger) · pl zagrożenie (indication of imminent danger) · gl ameaza (indication of imminent danger) · it pericolo a popolo (person regarded as a danger) · sh пре́тња (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · mk закана (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · th ภยันตราย (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · cmn 威脅 /威胁 (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kea amiasá (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · cs hrozba (person regarded as a danger) · nn trussel (person regarded as a danger) · nn trussel (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · uk загро́за (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · la minax (person regarded as a danger) · es peligro al público (person regarded as a danger) · ky опуза (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · mi kapatau (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kmr gef (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · lt grėsmė (indication of imminent danger) · cs výhrůžka (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · gd bagradh (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · tl banta (indication of imminent danger) · ja 脅威 (indication of imminent danger) · ka საფრთხე (indication of imminent danger) · la minacia (person regarded as a danger) · ja 脅迫 (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh прије́тња (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · da trussel (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · rup fuverã (indication of imminent danger) · pt perigo público (person regarded as a danger) · ug تەھدىد (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh prétnja (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kk байбалам (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pt ameaça (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · bho धमकी (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · az hədə-qorxu (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ro amenințare (indication of imminent danger) · ca amenaça (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · yue 威脅 /威胁 (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ota قورقو (indication of imminent danger) · om doorsisa (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · fi uhkaus (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · nb trussel (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · it minaccia (indication of imminent danger) · ur جوکِھم (indication of imminent danger) · ko 협박 (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ru угро́за (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · id ancaman (indication of imminent danger) · mn аюул занал (indication of imminent danger) · tr tehdit (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · hi जोखिम (indication of imminent danger) · be пагро́за (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kk қауіп (indication of imminent danger) · ur ڈَپَٹ (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · th ภัย (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · eu mehatxu (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · fi uhka (person regarded as a danger) · ceb bahad (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · cmn 危險 /危险 (indication of imminent danger) · ckb ھەڕەشە (indication of imminent danger) · fr menace (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · it minaccia (person regarded as a danger) · ar تَهْدِيد (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · tl bala (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · gl ameaza (person regarded as a danger) · uz doʻq (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sl grožnja (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · rup fuverã (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pl pogróżka (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh prijétnja (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · zza gef (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · el απειλή (indication of imminent danger) · ca perill públic (person regarded as a danger) · ko 협위 (indication of imminent danger) · he אִיּוּם (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ang þrēa (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ur تَہْدِید (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ms ugutan (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ru исто́чник опа́сности (person regarded as a danger) · az təhdid (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · tl banta (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pdt Jedreiw (indication of imminent danger) · et oht (indication of imminent danger) · hy սպառնալիք (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sw tisho (person regarded as a danger) · it minaccia (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ka მუქარა (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pt ameaça (person regarded as a danger) · oc menaça (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · nb trussel (person regarded as a danger) · ms ancaman (person regarded as a danger) · ur دَھمْکی (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · la minācia (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · vi uy hiếp (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · hu veszély (indication of imminent danger) · uz tahdid (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · tl banta (person regarded as a danger) · sh прије́тња (indication of imminent danger) · ja 脅威 (person regarded as a danger) · th คำขู่ (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · id ancaman (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · eo minaculo (person regarded as a danger) · uk небезпе́ка (indication of imminent danger) · az hədə (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh пре́тња (indication of imminent danger) · uk погро́за (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · hu fenyegetés (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · jv bebaya (indication of imminent danger) · ko 위협 (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kk қорқыту (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kmr tehdît (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · pl groźba (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ja 脅かし (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · ru зло (person regarded as a danger) · sq kërcënim (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · sh prétnja (indication of imminent danger) · sk hrozba (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · tg таҳдид (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · uk загро́за (person regarded as a danger) · ca amenaça (person regarded as a danger) · pt ameaça (indication of imminent danger) · sw tisho (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · kk үркіту (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · cs hrozba (indication of imminent danger) · km សីហលោ (person regarded as a danger) · bg запла́ха (expression of intent to injure or punish another) · nb trussel (indication of imminent danger) · vi lời đe doạ (expression of intent to injure or punish another)