threaten
/ˈθretən/verb
reporting verb
1- state one's intention to take hostile action against someone in retribution for something done or not done威胁; 扬言要, 威胁要：
with obj. the trade unions threatened a general strike工会威胁要举行总罢工
with infinitive she forced a scene and Toby threatened to leave她大闹了一场, 托比扬言要离开
with direct speech 'I might sue for damages, ' he threatened.“我会为这些损害提起诉讼,"他威胁道。
1.1
- with obj. express one's intention to harm or kill (someone)恐吓, 恫吓：
the men threatened staff with a handgun.
那些人用手枪恫吓员工。
1.2
- with obj. cause (someone or something) to be vulnerable or at risk; endanger对…构成威胁; 使有危险：
a broken finger threatened his career
一支断指使他的职业生涯受到威胁
one of four London hospitals threatened with closure.
濒临倒闭的伦敦四家医院之一。
1.3
- with infinitive(of a situation or weather conditions) seem likely to produce an unpleasant or unwelcome result（形势, 天气状况）构成威胁, 可能产生不良后果：
the dispute threatened to spread to other cities
争端可能会波及其他城市
with obj. the air was raw and threatened rain.空气阴冷, 可能会下雨。
1.4
- no obj.(of something undesirable) seem likely to occur（不希望发生的事情）似将发生, 可能来临：
unless war threatened, national politics remained the focus of attention.
除非有爆发战争的可能, 否则国家政治仍是关注焦点。
派生词
threatener
noun词源
Old English thrēatnian 'urge or induce， especially by using threats'， from thrēat （see THREAT）.