Word · CEFR B1 · Frequency #11096
threatening
构成威胁的；危险的
likely to cause harm; dangerous
- 1.
Presenting a threat, posing a likely risk of harm.
构成威胁的,可能造成伤害的。
- 2.
Making threats, making statements about a willingness to cause harm.
进行威胁的,声称愿意造成伤害的。
威胁的；恐吓的；构成威胁的,可能造成伤害的。；进行威胁的,声称愿意造成伤害的。；胁迫的；危险的；[法] 威胁的
In use
The dark clouds looked threatening, so we decided to stay indoors.
He received a threatening letter demanding money.
Her tone became threatening when she warned us to leave.
be threatening
表示状态或外观令人感到威胁。
The storm clouds were threatening.
暴风云来势汹汹。
find sth/sb threatening
表达主观感受。
She found his tone threatening.
她觉得他的语气带有威胁。
threatening to sb
后接介词to，表示对某人或某物有威胁。
The situation was threatening to the villagers.
Connections
Collocations
- threatening behavior
- 威胁性行为
- His threatening behavior alarmed the neighbors.他的威胁性行为让邻居们感到不安。
- threatening letter
- 恐吓信
- The company received a threatening letter demanding money.该公司收到一封索要钱财的恐吓信。
- threatening phone call
- 恐吓电话
- She reported the threatening phone calls to the police.她向警方报案了那些恐吓电话。
- threatening tone
- 威胁的语气
- He spoke in a threatening tone, and everyone fell silent.他用威胁的语气说话，大家都安静下来。
- threatening clouds
- 预示着暴风雨的乌云
- Dark threatening clouds gathered over the mountain.阴沉的乌云在山上空聚集。
Pop culture & quotes
Learner notes
Memory Tip
threat 本义是“威胁”，加上 -ening 就像乌云压顶、危险正在逼近，让人感到阴沉不安。
Context & Register
语域：neutral 常见场景：news reports、official warnings、daily conversation 该词为中性偏正式，在正式和非正式场合都比较常见；通常用来描述人或事物带来威胁或令人不安，也多见于书面警告和新闻报道中。日常口语中使用不算生硬，但语气相对严肃。
Pronunciation & Spelling
真正与 threatening /ˈθrɛt.nɪŋ/ 同韵的是 unthreatening /ˌʌnˈθrɛt.nɪŋ/。frightening、brightening、whitening、heightening、straightening 拼写都以 -tening 结尾，但重读元音分别为 /aɪ/ 或 /eɪ/，与 threatening 的 /ɛ/ 不同，所以并不押韵。
High-value vocabulary
该词属于 Oxford 核心词汇，值得优先掌握常见搭配和句型。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 3，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.