threatening

[thret-n-ing] / ˈθrɛt n ɪŋ /

ADJECTIVE

menacing, ominous

Synonyms

STRONGEST

aggressive alarming cautionary dangerous dire sinister ugly

STRONG

bullying close impending looming lowering near overhanging portending scowling terrorizing warning

WEAK

apocalyptic at hand baleful baneful comminatory fateful forthcoming grim ill-boding imminent impendent inauspicious intimidatory loury lowery minacious minatory portentous unlucky unpropitious unsafe upcoming

Antonyms

STRONGEST

good kind nice safe

STRONG

away distant far remote

WEAK

pleasant

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If confirmed, he stands to inherit a Fed caught between a technological shift that has yet to hold prices down and a fracturing geopolitical landscape that keeps threatening to push prices up.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

Significant gaps remain, with Iran threatening not to attend due to U.S. demands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026

Still, she said ongoing book bans are threatening those strides toward a more diverse literary marketplace.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2026

Individual members threatening expulsion votes was the next logical step.

From Slate • Apr. 16, 2026

Those words kept him moving forward, even as the crowd pressed in around him, constantly threatening the grip he had on Emma’s hand in front of him and Natalie’s hand behind him.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Vocabulary lists containing threatening

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