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Threatened ˈθretn Threatening Threaten Gun Verb Bre Broke

Word threaten
WordType (verb)
Phonetic BrE / ˈθretn / NAmE / ˈθretn /
Example
  • they broke my windows and threatened me.
  • the attacker threatened them with a gun.
  • he was threatened with dismissal if he continued to turn up late for work.
  • the threatened strike has been called off.
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threaten

(verb)BrE / ˈθretn / NAmE / ˈθretn /
  1. to say that you will cause trouble, hurt somebody, etc. if you do not get what you want
    • They broke my windows and threatened me.
    • The attacker threatened them with a gun.
    • He was threatened with dismissal if he continued to turn up late for work.
    • The threatened strike has been called off.
    • The hijackers threatened to kill one passenger every hour if their demands were not met.
    • They threatened that passengers would be killed.
  2. to seem likely to happen or cause something unpleasant
    • A storm was threatening.
    • When war threatens, people act irrationally.
    • This dispute threatens to split the party.
    • The clouds threatened rain.
  3. to be a danger to something
    • synonym endanger
      https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/endanger
    • Pollution is threatening marine life.

    Extra Examples

    • I never felt threatened by him.
    • Many species are now threatened with extinction.
    • Our marriage was constantly threatened by his other women.
    • Our way of life is gravely threatened.
    • She had repeatedly threatened to commit suicide.
    • She threatened him with a gun.
    • social unrest which seriously threatens the stability of the whole area
    • Did he ever say anything to suggest that he felt threatened, or that his life was in danger?
    • Pollution along the coastline is threatening marine life.
    • She claimed that the conflict was threatening stability in the region.
    • The hijackers threatened to kill the passengers if their demands were not met.
    • The union threatened that unless the new rules were withdrawn, they would call a strike.

    Verb Forms

    • present simple I / you / we / they threaten
    • he / she / it threatens
    • past simple threatened
    • past participle threatened
    • -ing form threatening

    Word Origin

    • Old English thrēatnian ‘urge or induce, especially by using threats’, from thrēat ‘oppression’, of Germanic origin.
Copyright This card's content is collected from the following dictionaries: Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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