Verb
To utter threats against; to menace; to inspire with apprehension; to alarm, or attempt to alarm, as with the promise of something evil or disagreeable; to warn.
To exhibit the appearance of (something evil or unpleasant) as approaching; to indicate as impending; to announce the conditional infliction of; as, to threaten war; to threaten death.
To use threats, or menaces; also, to have a threatening appearance.
Source: Webster's dictionaryTwo dangers constantly threaten the world: order and disorder. Paul Valéry
In no other country in the world is the love of property keener or more alert than in the United States, and nowhere else does the majority display less inclination toward doctrines which in any way threaten the way property is owned. Alexis de Tocqueville
Accordingly, globalization is not only something that will concern and threaten us in the future, but something that is taking place in the present and to which we must first open our eyes. Ulrich Beck
He can do but little who cannot threaten another. Spanish Proverb
It is easy to threaten a bull from a window. Italian Proverb
How ever big a rat is, it can't threaten a cat. African Proverb