这些名词均含有“危险、威胁”之意。
danger : 含义广，普通用词，指能够造成伤害、损害或不利的任何情况。
- Danger! Keep out!
危险！别进来！ - He drove so fast that I really felt my life was in danger.
他的车开得太快了，当时我真的觉得自己会有生命危险。 - The doctors say he is now out of danger (= is not expected to die although he has been extremely sick).
医生们说他已经度过危险期了。 - the dangers of rock-climbing
攀岩的种种危险
risk : 指有可能发生的危险，尤指主动进行某种活动或去碰运气而冒的危险。
- In this business, the risks and the rewards are high.
这个行业的风险和回报都很高。 - There's a high risk of another accident happening in this fog.
这样大的雾，很有可能再次出事故。 - The risk (that) we might fail made us work twice as hard.
我们可能会失败，这种忧患意识使得我们加倍努力工作。 - It's always a risk starting up a new business.
创立一家新公司总是有风险的。 - The company is quite a good risk (= safe to lend money to).
贷款给这家公司风险很小。 - We want clean rivers and lakes, where you can swim without risk to your health.
我们需要干净清洁的河流湖泊，使我们游泳时不会危及健康。 - It's a low/high-risk strategy (= one that is safe/not safe).
这种策略风险很低／高。
hazard : 多指偶然发生的或超出控制范围的危险，常意味着较严重或含有一定风险，相对于 risk 来说更为正式。
- a fire/safety hazard
火灾 / 安全隐患 - Growing levels of pollution represent a serious health hazard to the local population.
日益严重的污染对当地人民的健康构成了重大威胁。 - Everybody is aware of the hazards of smoking.
大家都明白吸烟的危害。 - hazard lights (= flashing lights on a car that warn other drivers of possible danger)
（汽车上的）危险警示灯
menace : 所指的危险性最严重，表示使用暴力或造成破坏性的可能。
- Drunk drivers are a menace to everyone.
醉酒驾驶者对每个人都构成了威胁。 - Dogs running loose are a public menace.
没有拴起来到处乱跑的狗对公众安全是一种威胁。 - the menace of industrial pollution
工业污染的危害
peril : 指迫在眉睫很有可能发生的严重危险。
- I never felt that my life was in peril.
我从未意识到我的生命受到了严重的威胁。 - The journey through the mountains was fraught with peril (= full of dangers).
穿越山岭的旅途充满了危险。 - Teenagers must be warned about the perils of unsafe sex.
必须告诫青少年不安全性行为存在重大危险。
threat : 普通用词，语气弱于menace，指任何公开侵犯对方的言行，给对方构成危险或威胁。
- Her parents carried out their threat to take away her mobile phone if her grades didn't improve.
她父母威胁说，如果她不能提高成绩，就要没收她的手机。 - The threat of jail failed to deter him from petty crime.
坐牢的可能也没能吓住他小偷小摸。 - Drunken drivers pose a serious threat (= cause a lot of harm) to other road users.
酒后驾车者对其他路人构成了严重威胁。 - He says he'll tell the authorities but it's just an empty threat (= it will not happen).
他称他要向当局报告，不过那只是一句吓唬人的话。
