危言耸听

危言聳聽

wēiyánsǒngtīng

idiom #29,864

Meanings

1 alarmist talk
2 to exaggerate danger to frighten people
3 scaremongering

Characters

danger; dangerous

words; speech; to say

to alarm; to startle; to tower

to listen; to hear

Examples

他的预言不过是危言耸听，不必当真。

Tā de yùyán bùguò shì wēiyán sǒng tīng, bùbì dāngzhēn.

His predictions are nothing but scaremongering — there's no need to take them seriously.

媒体有时会危言耸听来吸引眼球。

Méitǐ yǒushí huì wēiyán sǒng tīng lái xīyǐn yǎnqiú.

The media sometimes uses alarmist talk to attract attention.

Tips

memory

危 (danger) + 言 (words) + 耸 (to startle) + 听 (to listen) — dangerous words that make the listener's hair stand on end. Picture someone whispering alarming things into a terrified listener's ear.

Stroke Order

危 wēi

言 yán

耸 sǒng

听 tīng