threat·en
verb/ˈθretn/
/ˈθretn/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they threaten | /ˈθretn/ /ˈθretn/ |
| he / she / it threatens | /ˈθretnz/ /ˈθretnz/ |
| past simple threatened | /ˈθretnd/ /ˈθretnd/ |
| past participle threatened | /ˈθretnd/ /ˈθretnd/ |
| -ing form threatening | /ˈθretnɪŋ/ /ˈθretnɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] to say that you will cause trouble, hurt somebody, etc. if you do not get what you want
扬言要；威胁；恐吓 - threaten somebody/something They broke my windows and threatened me.
他们砸碎我的窗子并威胁我。 - People have even threatened his life.
人们甚至威胁他的生命。 - threaten somebody with something The attacker threatened them with a gun.
袭击者用枪威胁他们。 - He was threatened with dismissal if he continued to turn up late for work.
他受到警告，如果继续上班迟到，就被辞退。 - threaten something The threatened strike has been called off.
扬言要进行的罢工被取消了。 - Students are threatening legal action.
学生们威胁要采取法律行动。 - threaten to do something The hijackers threatened to kill one passenger every hour if their demands were not met.
劫机者要挟说，如果他们的要求得不到满足，他们每过一小时就杀死一名乘客。 - The bank is threatening to sue him.
银行威胁要起诉他。 - threaten that… They threatened that passengers would be killed.
他们要挟说要杀死乘客。 - threaten + speech ‘I'm going to kill him!’ she threatened.
“我要杀了他！”她威胁说。
Extra Examples- I never felt threatened by him.
我从来没有觉得受他威胁。 - Did he ever say anything to suggest that he felt threatened, or that his life was in danger?
他是否曾说过任何话表明他感到受到威胁，或者他的生命处于危险之中？ - She had repeatedly threatened to leave.
她曾多次威胁要离开。 - The union threatened that unless the new rules were withdrawn, they would call a strike.
工会威胁称，除非撤销新规定，否则他们将举行罢工。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- publicly
- personally
- physically
- …
- with
- feel threatened
- threaten somebody/something They broke my windows and threatened me.
- [intransitive, transitive] to seem likely to happen or cause something unpleasant
预示凶兆；有…危险 - A storm was threatening.
暴风雨即将来临。 - When war threatens, people act irrationally.
受到战争威胁时，人们的行为失去理性。 - threaten to do something This dispute threatens to split the party.
这一分歧可能会造成党的分裂。 - threaten something The clouds threatened rain.
乌云密布预示大雨将至。 - threaten something with something Many species are now threatened with extinction.
很多物种现在有灭绝的危险。 - The theatre was threatened with closure.
剧院受到关闭的威胁。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gravely
- seriously
- severely
- …
- could
- appear to
- seem to
- …
- be threatened with something
- A storm was threatening.
- [transitive] threaten something to be a danger to something
危及；对…构成威胁 - Pollution is threatening marine life.
污染正危及海洋生物。 - to threaten national security
威胁国家安全 - They are not currently an endangered or threatened species.
它们目前不是濒临灭绝或受威胁的物种。
Extra Examples- Our marriage was constantly threatened by his other women.
他有别的女人，我们的婚姻不断受到威胁。 - Our way of life is gravely threatened.
我们的生活方式受到严重威胁。 - She claimed that the conflict was threatening stability in the region.
她声称冲突威胁该地区的稳定。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- gravely
- seriously
- severely
- …
- could
- appear to
- seem to
- …
- be threatened with something
- Pollution is threatening marine life.
Word OriginOld English thrēatnian ‘urge or induce, especially by using threats’, from thrēat ‘oppression’, of Germanic origin.