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A lightweight JavaScript package for English word definitions and collections.
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{
"term": "threaten",
"partOfSpeech": "verb",
"ox3000": true,
"cefr": "b2",
"verbForms": {
"presentSimple": {
"iYouWeThey": "threaten",
"heSheIt": "threatens"
},
"pastSimple": "threatened",
"pastParticiple": "threatened",
"ingForm": "threatening"
},
"definitions": [
{
"senseNumber": 1,
"definition": "to say that you will cause trouble, hurt somebody, etc. if you do not get what you want",
"sensetop": "threaten somebody/somethingthreaten somebody with somethingthreaten somethingthreaten to do somethingthreaten that…threaten + speech",
"cefr": "b2",
"ox3000": true,
"examples": [
{
"text": "They broke my windows and threatened me.",
"contextForm": "threaten somebody/something"
},
{
"text": "People have even threatened his life."
},
{
"text": "The attacker threatened them with a gun.",
"contextForm": "threaten somebody with something"
},
{
"text": "He was threatened with dismissal if he continued to turn up late for work."
},
{
"text": "The threatened strike has been called off.",
"contextForm": "threaten something"
},
{
"text": "Students are threatening legal action."
},
{
"text": "The hijackers **threatened to kill** one passenger every hour if their demands were not met.",
"contextForm": "threaten to do something"
},
{
"text": "The bank is **threatening to sue** him."
},
{
"text": "They threatened that passengers would be killed.",
"contextForm": "threaten that…"
},
{
"text": "‘I'm going to kill him!’ she threatened.",
"contextForm": "threaten + speech"
},
{
"text": "I never felt threatened by him."
},
{
"text": "Did he ever say anything to suggest that he felt threatened, or that his life was in danger?"
},
{
"text": "She had repeatedly threatened to leave."
},
{
"text": "The union threatened that unless the new rules were withdrawn, they would call a strike."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["publicly", "personally", "physically"],
"preposition": ["with"],
"phrases": ["feel threatened"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 2,
"definition": "to seem likely to happen or cause something unpleasant",
"sensetop": "threaten to do somethingthreaten somethingthreaten something with something",
"cefr": "b2",
"ox3000": true,
"examples": [
{
"text": "A storm was threatening."
},
{
"text": "When war threatens, people act irrationally."
},
{
"text": "This dispute threatens to split the party.",
"contextForm": "threaten to do something"
},
{
"text": "The clouds threatened rain.",
"contextForm": "threaten something"
},
{
"text": "Many species are now threatened with extinction.",
"contextForm": "threaten something with something"
},
{
"text": "The theatre was threatened with closure."
}
],
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["gravely", "seriously", "severely"],
"verb + threaten": ["could", "appear to", "seem to"],
"phrases": ["be threatened with something"]
}
},
{
"senseNumber": 3,
"definition": "to be a danger to something",
"sensetop": "threaten something",
"cefr": "b2",
"ox3000": true,
"examples": [
{
"text": "Pollution is threatening marine life."
},
{
"text": "to threaten national security"
},
{
"text": "They are not currently an endangered or threatened species."
},
{
"text": "Our marriage was constantly threatened by his other women."
},
{
"text": "Our way of life is gravely threatened."
},
{
"text": "She claimed that the conflict was threatening stability in the region."
}
],
"synonyms": "endanger, at risk",
"collocations": {
"adverb": ["gravely", "seriously", "severely"],
"verb + threaten": ["could", "appear to", "seem to"],
"phrases": ["be threatened with something"]
}
}
],
"pronunciations": {
"uk": [
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretn/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threaten__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnz/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatens__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnd/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatened__gb_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnɪŋ/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatening__gb_1.mp3"
}
],
"us": [
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretn/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threaten__us_2.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnz/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatens__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnd/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatened__us_1.mp3"
},
{
"pronunciation": "/ˈθretnɪŋ/",
"audio": "th/threaten/threatening__us_1.mp3"
}
]
},
"wordOrigin": "Old English thrēatnian ‘urge or induce, especially by using threats’, from thrēat ‘oppression’, of Germanic origin."
}