How to Use threaten in a Sentence
threaten
verb
- The mugger threatened him with a gun.
- She threatened to quit if they didn't give her a raise, but no one believed her.
- Civil war has been threatening the country for years.
- The latest news threatens trouble for the economy.
- Overfishing threatens the survival of certain fish species.
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Maduro and his cadres have threatened to lock up both of them.
—
Jorge Rueda and Regina Garcia Cano,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Aug. 2024
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Later in the episode, Spears got emotional again and threatened to quit the show.
—
Hannah Sacks,
Peoplemag,
22 Nov. 2023
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The woman said Marchetti killed her dog and threatened to kill her next.
—
Rey Covarrubias Jr.,
The Arizona Republic,
21 June 2024
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When a guard threatened to shoot, the group backed off and Ms. Stafford felt her resolve deflate.
—
Lynsey Chutel Gulshan Khan,
New York Times,
11 Nov. 2023
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But there are some risks that threaten De Haan’s outlook.
—
Krystal Hur,
CNN,
28 May 2023
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That sounds like a lot, but the sum so far has not appeared to threaten U.S. economic growth.
—
Fatima Hussein,
Fortune,
3 Jan. 2024
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Then there is the island itself, shaped by the seasons and threatened by the hostile nature.
—
Annika Pham,
Variety,
13 Nov. 2023
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By the time the 80th minute rolled around, France had yet to seriously threaten the Albiceleste.
—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
18 Dec. 2022
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When disaster threatens, her new friends — a pile of rocks, a rabbit, a cactus, the motel desk clerks— save the day.
—
Staff Author,
Peoplemag,
26 Sep. 2023
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Basha threatened to open things in the bottom of the fifth inning after Aniyah Jaiman’s base hit drove in Garcia, giving the Bears a 3-0 lead.
—
Ben Stapley,
The Arizona Republic,
16 May 2023
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Evers threatened to veto the entire budget over the DEI cuts.
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The Editors,
National Review,
18 Dec. 2023
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Still, storm surges threaten the coast and forecasts continue to call for heavy rainfall.
—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes,
12 Oct. 2024
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Right to Life group revoked its endorsement of him and threatened to do the same to any lawmaker who backed his bill.
—
Kate Zernike,
New York Times,
17 Dec. 2023
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This morning the war threatens to expand as Israel exchanged strikes with Hezbollah in the north.
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Nbc Universal,
NBC News,
8 Oct. 2023
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The Huskies threatened to finish with more offensive rebounds than the Aztecs had in total.
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Bryce Miller,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 Mar. 2024
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When a bird flu epidemic starts threatening the farm, they are forced to rise above conflict and heal old wounds.
—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
30 Oct. 2023
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Even though all of this appeared to be routine, Trump threatened to punish Nasdaq.
—
Matt Egan,
CNN,
14 Sep. 2024
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The bandits threatened that if players were hiding money, their legs would be blown off.
—
Michael S. Rosenwald,
Washington Post,
16 May 2023
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Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened, all of Europe will be threatened.
—
Kaia Hubbard,
CBS News,
6 June 2024
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Police said Bell threatened the guard’s life if the tellers didn’t open the security door.
—
Brittny Mejia,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2024
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Unexpectedly, the two fall in love and elope — but the fairytale is threatened when Vanya’s parents find out.
—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
15 July 2024
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The volcanoes shown are among those most likely to threaten humans.
—
National Geographic,
13 Jan. 2023
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Her son and his fiancée, who had been scheduled to testify in a murder trial, were threatened by the suspects and killed in 2005.
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Audra D. S. Burch,
New York Times,
15 Sep. 2023
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Share [Findings] Cocaine trafficking was found to threaten the golden-cheeked warbler.
—
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Oct. 2024
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North Korea has repeatedly protested such action and threatened a response.
—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
24 Oct. 2024
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'threaten.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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