saber-rattling

noun

sa·​ber-rat·​tling ˈsā-bər-ˌrat-liŋ 

-ˌra-tᵊl-iŋ

variants or saber rattling or chiefly British sabre-rattling or sabre rattling

: overtly and often exaggeratedly threatening actions or statements (such as verbal threats or ostentatious displays of military power) that are meant to intimidate an enemy by suggesting possible use of force

But Jager insists that North Korean saber-rattling was aimed mostly at extorting economic aid from Washington, Seoul and other governments anxious to preserve peace at almost any price.

—Mark Atwood Lawrence

Iran's noisy saber rattling is only the latest lurch in its erratic foreign policy.

—John Greenwald

broadly : threatening statements or actions

The U.S. central bank has been saber-rattling for months regarding interest rate hikes but has yet to pull the trigger amid uneven economic data.

—Jeff Fox

For months now, the card companies have been threatening to cut rewards programs sharply to make up for revenue lost because of the new restrictions. My guess, however, is that this talk is just so much saber-rattling.

—Ron Lieber

Examples of saber-rattling in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Though there was some saber-rattling at the outset, the negotiations proceeded relatively smoothly, without resort to a strike authorization vote or even the threat of one. —Gene Maddaus, Variety, 28 June 2024

Russia’s saber-rattling on potential use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine makes this distinction all too real. —Tamlyn Hunt, Scientific American, 17 June 2024

In the near term, that means working together to push back against Russian disinformation about the war and false historical narratives, as well as the Kremlin’s other efforts to intimidate Europe—including through deliberate nuclear saber-rattling and energy cutoffs. —Fiona Hill, Foreign Affairs, 25 Aug. 2022

From the outside, Iran’s rhetoric might appear like saber-rattling — threats that are not matched by its capabilities. —Zack Beauchamp, Vox, 20 Nov. 2018

That response barely qualified as saber-rattling by recent standards, and was far less than many China-watchers had expected. —Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024

Achieving a reset in ties has been complicated by Beijing’s tense standoffs with the Philippines over contested islands, escalating saber-rattling around Taiwan, and frequent dangerous intercepts by Chinese ships and warplanes targeting the United States and its allies. —Christian Shepherd, Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2023

Meanwhile, Biden’s allies are seeking to remind voters about the turbulence of Trump’s presidency, which was marked by trade wars, nuclear saber-rattling and late-night social media posts. —Toluse Olorunnipa, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023

Russia is using nuclear saber-rattling as a way to get leverage on Ukraine, says Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies. —Mathias Hammer, TIME, 6 Oct. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1914, in the meaning defined above