ultimatumnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌʌl.tɪˈmeɪ.təm/us/ˌʌl.təˈmeɪ.t̬əm/plural ultimatums or ultimataa threat in which a person or group of people are warned that if they do not do a particular thing, something unpleasant will happen to them. It is usually the last and most extreme in a series of actions taken to bring about a particular result:
He gave her an ultimatum - she could either stop seeing Peter and come back to him or it was divorce.
On Wednesday night the UN issued its toughest ultimatum to date, demanding that all troops withdraw from the city.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Threats & warnings
- (I) told you (so)! idiom
- (just) you wait idiom
- bell
- cautionary tale
- do you want to make something/anything of it? idiom
- early warning system
- emergency cord
- fire a (warning) shot across sb's bow idiom
- forewarn
- heads-up
- notice
- ring/sound alarm bells idiom
- siren
- slap
- sound
- tip
- tip sb off
- wake-up call
- warning
- warning/alarm bells start to ring/sound idiom
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