verbal threats
Words promising harm
Verbal threats are spoken statements expressing intent to harm, punish, or cause damage.
The phrase appears most often in legal and workplace contexts, where verbal threats may constitute harassment, assault, or grounds for disciplinary action: He was fired for making verbal threats against his supervisor.
The modifier verbal distinguishes spoken threats from written ones or threatening gestures.
- death threatStated intent to murder
- curseInvoked harm through words
- intimidationDeliberate fear-inducing pressure
- veiled threatDisguised warning of harm
- insinuationIndirect, usually negative suggestion
shout · coercion · empty threat · idle threat · defamation · hate speech · implication · or else · harassment · manipulation · menace · slander · ultimatum · rhetoric · libel · warning · fighting words · heated argument
- intimidationthreatening, menacing, intimidate, bullying, menace
- menacingthreatening, intimidating, menacing, ominous, sinister
- road ragetailgating, honking, cutting off, brake checking, middle finger
- misdemeanorsmisdemeanor, petty theft, disorderly conduct, public intoxication, petty larceny
verbal threatsblessings
Favors from the divine
compliments · kind words · praise · flattery · sweet nothings
verbal threatsphysical assault
Harmful bodily contact
bodily harm · physical attack · assault · battery · physical aggression
verbal threatscivil discourse
Respectful exchange of views
amicable discussion · diplomatic language · polite conversation · silence