imminent threat
Danger approaching fast
An imminent threat is a danger that is about to occur—not merely possible or eventual, but pressing and immediate.
The phrase appears in legal contexts to justify preemptive action: self-defense requires an imminent threat, not a hypothetical one.
The intelligence suggested an imminent threat to the embassy.
Security professionals distinguish imminent threats from long-term risks.
- approachingComing toward something
- on the horizonSoon to arrive
- menaceSource of potential harm
- impendingSoon to occur
- forthcomingSoon to appear
hazard · natural disaster · immediate · looming · evacuation · disaster preparedness · knife-edge · peril · precariousness · brink · alarm · ticking clock · time bomb · risk assessment · worst case scenario · fight or flight · urgent · pressing
- dangerhazard, peril, risk, menace, jeopardy
- legal necessitynecessity, legal justification, justification, legal excuse, duress
- self-defenseself-defense, martial arts, self-protection, karate, pepper spray
- Police Forcedeadly force, excessive force, lethal force, reasonable force, less lethal
imminent threatsafe haven
Protected place of shelter
sanctuary · security · safety · all clear · harmlessness