empty threat
noun
: a threat that someone does not really mean
Don't make empty threats that you have no intention of backing up with action.
… the Witch of the West looks, in this scene anyhow, curiously frail and impotent, obliged to mouth empty threats …—
Salman Rushdie
Salman RushdieExamples of empty threat in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Experts generally view these calls for the return of Alaska as an empty threat, but caution against what the Russian nationalist sentiment signals.
—Solcyré Burga, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
Another empty threat or altered Trump deadline would play into the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) sensitivities of his administration and be a gift to those who doubt that Trump is willing to really play hardball with the Kremlin.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 28 July 2025
However, given the vast distances and logistical resources required to impose such blockades, are these empty threats?
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Suddenly, there was an opening to actually make good on those empty threats of collaboration.
—Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
Government officials worry Biden’s record of empty threats have given the Israelis a sense of impunity.
—Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 15 Jan. 2025
Speaking to German publication Motorsport-Total, Marko warned Verstappen’s words weren’t an empty threat.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
That’s likely an empty threat, because leaving would decidedly disadvantage U.S. firms.
—Ivo Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2018
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Solcyré Burga, Time, 14 Aug. 2025
Another empty threat or altered Trump deadline would play into the TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) sensitivities of his administration and be a gift to those who doubt that Trump is willing to really play hardball with the Kremlin.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 28 July 2025
However, given the vast distances and logistical resources required to impose such blockades, are these empty threats?
—Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 12 June 2025
Suddenly, there was an opening to actually make good on those empty threats of collaboration.
—Dan Ewen, Deadline, 18 Apr. 2025
Government officials worry Biden’s record of empty threats have given the Israelis a sense of impunity.
—Brett Murphy, ProPublica, 15 Jan. 2025
Speaking to German publication Motorsport-Total, Marko warned Verstappen’s words weren’t an empty threat.
—Dan Cancian, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2024
That’s likely an empty threat, because leaving would decidedly disadvantage U.S. firms.
—Ivo Daalder, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2018
Cite this Entry
“Empty threat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empty%20threat. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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