| / English Dictionary |
THREAT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Declaration of an intention or a determination to inflict harm on another
Example:
his threat to kill me was quite explicit
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("threat" is a kind of...):
declaration (a statement that is emphatic and explicit (spoken or written))
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "threat"):
commination (a threat of divine punishment or vengeance)
menace (a threat or the act of threatening)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A warning that something unpleasant is imminent
Example:
they were under threat of arrest
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("threat" is a kind of...):
warning (a message informing of danger)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A person who inspires fear or dread
Example:
he was the terror of the neighborhood
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("threat" is a kind of...):
individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Something that is a source of danger
Example:
earthquakes are a constant threat in Japan
Synonyms:
menace; threat
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("threat" is a kind of...):
danger (a cause of pain or injury or loss)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "threat"):
yellow peril (the threat to Western civilization said to arise from the power of Asiatic peoples)
Context examples:
Mix not God's name with these unhallowed threats!
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I lit the lamp, put the powder above it, and stood outside the window, ready to carry out my threat to shoot him should he try to leave the room.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Marianne sighed out her similar apprehension; and Elinor's heart wrung for the feelings of Edward, while braving his mother's threats, for a woman who could not reward him.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Over time, colonies have become even more susceptible, and viruses became among the chief threats to the important pollinators for crops on which people rely.
(Mushroom Extract Could Help Save Bees from Virus, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
A food allergy occurs when the immune system reacts to a harmless food as if it were a threat.
(Peanut Consumption in Infancy Lowers Peanut Allergy, NIH)
One manufacturer, Unilever, stopped adding triclosan to its products in response to consumer demand, but says it is confident the chemical poses no threat.
(Common Ingredient in Toothpaste Puts Women at Risk of Bone Disease, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The animals were so unused to humans that they did not see Darwin – a potential predator - as a threat.
(A decade after the predators have gone, Galapagos Island finches are still being spooked, University of Cambridge)
Emerging fungal pathogens pose a greater threat to biodiversity than any other parasitic group, scientists say, causing population declines of amphibians, bats, corals, bees and snakes.
(Amphibians can acquire resistance to deadly fungus, NSF)
Tawakol said the amygdala is the region of the brain that is most responsive to external threats, and has shown to be more active in those with stress disorders, even at rest.
(Biological Link Found Between Stress, Heart Disease, VOA)
"We know warming oceans pose a threat to coral reefs around the world," said Allison Tracy, who conducted the work with marine scientist Drew Harvell.
(Sea fan corals face new threat in warming ocean: copper, National Science Foundation)
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