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threaten

Pronunciation: /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/

The English word “threaten” has 5 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
  2. To menace, or be dangerous.
  3. To portend, or give a warning of.
  4. To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
  5. To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.); to challenge.

Etymology

From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.