threat
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: thrĕt
ipa: /θɹɛt/
ipa: /ˈθɹet/
ipa: /ˈtɹɛt/
rhymes: -ɛt
Forms: form: threats
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”), whence also Middle Low German drōt (“threat, menace, danger”), Middle High German drōz (“annoyance, disgust, horror, terror, fright”), Icelandic þraut (“struggle, labour, distress”), Russian труд (trud, “work, labour”), Polish trud (“hard work”), Latin trūdō (“push”, verb).
Senses: examples: text: There is no terror, Cassius, in your threats.
ref: 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]:
text: 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.
ref: 1995, Richard Rhodes, “Scorpions in a Bottle”, in Dark Sun: The Making of the Hydrogen Bomb, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 575:
glosses: An expression of intent to injure or punish another.
examples: text: Verifying and addressing actual threats is not paranoia.
text: 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.
ref: 2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
glosses: An indication of potential or imminent danger.
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:
text: 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.
ref: 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:
glosses: A person or object that is regarded as a danger; a menace.
Synonyms: word: intimidation
word: warning
word: menace
word: threat
Hyponyms: word: blackmail
word: extortion
word: sabre-rattling
word: ultimatum
Derived terms: biothreat
counterthreat
cyberthreat
death threat
empty threat
idle threat
immunothreat
nonthreat
second-order threat
stereotype threat
threat actor
threatful
threatless
threatmate
threatproof
threatscape
threatsome
threatspot
throffer
triple threat
Related terms: word: threaten
word: threatening
word: or else
word: omen
word: danger