threaten
threat·en/ˈθɹɛt.n̩/verb
threaten is spelled T-H-R-E-A-T-E-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables (threat·en). It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, threaten means “To make a threat against someone; to use threats” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in threaten?
| Letters | 8: T-H-R-E-A-T-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: threat·en |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is threaten?
Threaten appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce threaten?
- US /ˈθɹɛt.n̩/
- US [ˈθɹɛt.n̩]
- US [ˈθɹɛʔ.n̩]
Threaten has 2 syllables, split threat·en in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-threaten.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-threaten.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with threaten?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as threaten from its last stressed vowel (/ɛtn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of threaten
- threatens present, singular, he/she/it
- threatening participle, present
- threatened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does threaten mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make a threat against someone; to use threats.
He threatened me with a knife.
- 2
To menace, or be dangerous.
The rocks threatened the ship's survival.
- 3
To portend, or give a warning of.
The black clouds threatened heavy rain.
- 4
To call into question the validity of (a belief, idea, or viewpoint); to challenge.
The new information threatened our original hypothesis.
- 5
To be close to equaling or surpassing (a record, etc.); to challenge.
The player quickly surmised that things weren't kosher and the suddenly wiser ballplayer threatened the world record for the fifty-yard dash as he sought safety. As Reynolds dived into the van, Dietz and the other players rolled with laught
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Threaten in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | menacer |
| German | drohen, bedrohen , androhen |
| Portuguese | ameaçar |
| Spanish | conminar, amagar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does threaten come from?
From Middle English thretenen, from Old English þrēatnian (“to urge, force, compel”), equivalent to threat + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).