How to Use threatening in a Sentence

threatening

adjective
Definition of threateningnext
Synonyms for threateningnext
  • The firm might send the firm that hired you a threatening letter.
    — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2023
  • This goes for the common cold, the flu and viruses that could be life-threatening.
    — Abigail Van Buren, oregonlive, 31 Oct. 2022
  • But there’s also the threatening nature that plays out in the background, on the news.
    — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 20 June 2023
  • Not talking about it can make the event even more threatening in your child’s mind.
    — Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Powell threw the ratchet strap at one of the officers and made threatening statements, the GBI said.
    — Caroline Silva, ajc, 8 Oct. 2022
  • The Biden-Xi meeting has put the two countries on a less threatening trajectory in the short term.
    — Wang Jisi, Foreign Affairs, 23 Nov. 2023
  • The more players who can score, the more threatening and unpredictable a team becomes.
    — Jeré Longman, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2023
  • What makes such public displays of Black male love such as these so striking and, to some, so very threatening?
    — Peniel E. Joseph, CNN, 9 Mar. 2023
  • She got hurt all over her body and is in a threatening situation.
    — Jordan Greene, Peoplemag, 11 Oct. 2023
  • As the game wound down, Denmark became more threatening.
    — Kevin Draper Ben Shpigel Victor Mather James Wagner Natalie Alcoba Victor Mather Andrew Das Andrew Das The New York Times Ben Shpigel Ben Shpigel Ben Shpigel, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2022
  • There are a lot of really smart people that challenge you on a day-to-day basis, in a non-threatening way.
    — Yadi Rodriguez, cleveland, 26 June 2022
  • The same area where several of the threatening calls to Melissa's little sister were made.
    — Erin Moriarty, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2023
  • Some of them live in Hunters View, a hilltop formerly known as West Point, and some who came from around the city to work under heavy threatening skies.
    — Sam Whiting, San Francisco Chronicle, 15 Jan. 2023
  • The night before, a cartel had hung a threatening sign from an overpass at one of the main intersections of the border city.
    — María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
  • Police said the injuries were non-life-threatening and that he was released from the hospital.
    — Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2023
  • Teens and young adults may intend to buy a less threatening drug, such as marijuana, and end up with a drug cut with fentanyl.
    — WSJ, 12 Dec. 2023
  • Faced with increasingly threatening storms, Nacer has to face a dark past that haunts him.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 Feb. 2024
  • Aside from Kelce, Mahomes' playmakers haven't been as threatening as in years past.
    — Noah Trister, USA TODAY, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Surveillance footage shared with CBS News shows the brazenness of the work behind the gallows and noose, which have a history of racist and threatening overtones.
    — Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2024
  • The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t believed to be life-threatening.
    — Lyndsay Winkley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Sep. 2022
  • The mayor was quick with a threatening call to McCoy, too, but, in true McCoy fashion, he wouldn't be deterred from the pursuit of justice.
    — Alex Ross, Peoplemag, 23 Feb. 2024
  • Someone called the police to report a man holding a pistol in a driveway in a threatening way, police records show.
    — Dallas Morning News, 6 July 2023
  • Open carry is allowed as long as the firearm is not displayed in an angry or threatening manner.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Life on earth is resilient, even in the most threatening situations.
    — Wyatte Grantham-Philips, USA TODAY, 13 July 2022
  • As China has grown more powerful, and Xi’s rhetoric more threatening, the matter has become more acute.
    — Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2022
  • Any or all of this might be threatening or vertiginous or worse, but none of it suggests stuckness.
    — Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022
  • Liverpool then came out in the second half with momentum and started to look more threatening.
    — Ben Church, CNN, 5 Feb. 2024
  • Eventually, the witness said, one Spartan left a threatening note under the door of the captain who denied the request.
    — Keri Blakinger, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2024
  • Do not use bear spray on wildlife that poses no threat and is not exhibiting threatening behavior.
    — Meg Carney, Field & Stream, 11 Apr. 2023
  • Idalia’s flood waters may be the storm’s most threatening component, with forecasts calling for a dangerous surge in parts of the Big Bend region.
    — Jon Kamp, WSJ, 31 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'threatening.' 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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