threatening
- adjective
- /ˈθrɛtənɪŋ/
- The lowering sky was dark and threatening, promising worse than the downpour already underway.
- less threatening
- threatening environment
Examples
-
Outside, the sky is gray and threatening.
Fiction book (1997) -
There was a hurricane east of the Big Island that looked threatening, but Elson had been tracking a smaller storm: Iniki.
Fiction book (1999) -
The sky is dark and threatening, the wind even stronger.
Fiction book (1992) -
It does look a bit more threatening and dangerous.
-
The mountains, so oppressive and threatening before, backed away here, so the house, even under the grayness, seemed bathed in light.
Fiction book (1995) -
The trees, which moments ago had looked magnificent and glittering, were now taking on a more threatening appearance; their snow-colored limbs seemed to be trying to grab at me, and in the tree trunks, I saw the hideous grinning faces of gargoyles.
Fiction book (2000) -
As the storm rolled in, the sky grew threatening, filled with dark clouds and flashes of lightning.
-
The threatening clouds loomed overhead, signaling that a heavy rain would soon fall.
-
Looking up at the threatening sky, we decided to take shelter before the storm hit.
Synonyms
Like violent weather with dark clouds and high waves
Strong winds and heavy rain that make travel difficult
Dark and cloudy, making a place feel gloomy
Giving the feeling that something dangerous may happen
Dark and threatening because of low clouds
A cloudy dark sky that looks like it will rain
Antonyms
How Threatening
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Threatening comes from the same root threat, meaning 'danger' or 'force', and people began to use it for things that seem about to happen. So, a threatening sky looks like it may bring a storm or heavy rain.