How to Use ultimatum in a Sentence

ultimatum

noun
  • She was given an ultimatum—work harder or lose her job.
  • Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.
    — Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025
  • Each new ultimatum is a threat and a step towards war.
    — Meredith Kile, People.com, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Mae Muller nails both of them with a song that's an ultimatum to a lazy lover.
    — refinery29.com, 22 June 2018
  • Basie followed through on the ultimatum and turned down the gig.
    — Larry Tye, TIME, 9 May 2024
  • At that point, the woman gave her an ultimatum.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
  • So, ultimatums and threats aren’t the best course of action.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Denver Post, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Webber gets an ultimatum — work or his wife.
    — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Which seems to bring us to an impasse—and back to Marko's ultimatum.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 16 Oct. 2020
  • Joan gives Greg an ultimatum — get a steady job or she's headed home.
    — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 14 Jan. 2025
  • Do not give your friend any kind of ultimatum, Zendegui says.
    — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 1 Mar. 2019
  • The first time was after an ultimatum by his mother.
    — Elizabeth Marie Himchak, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025
  • Her sergeant, a woman, gave the class a life-changing ultimatum.
    — Emmett Jones, Fox News, 23 Oct. 2021
  • Rae gave Zae the ultimatum after two and a half years of dating.
    — Glamour, 9 Apr. 2022
  • But again, the three-day ultimatum, the risk to designate us a supply chain.
    — CBS News, 28 Feb. 2026
  • While one partner is ready to take the next step, the other isn’t quite sure, and an ultimatum is issued.
    — Emily Longeretta, Variety, 24 Mar. 2022
  • Kids tend to rebel against their parents in reaction to threats and ultimatums.
    — David G. Allan, CNN, 10 Oct. 2019
  • The counselor says that Maci needs to give Ryan an ultimatum.
    — Mark Shrayber, Cosmopolitan, 20 June 2017
  • Is there truly a hard deadline or ultimatum?
    — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
  • Craig issues a final ultimatum to Austen to either swim in his pool or leave.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025
  • Trump gave Maduro ultimatum to flee Venezuela 3.
    — FOXNews.com, 1 Dec. 2025
  • While one partner is ready to take the leap and gave their partner an ultimatum as a result, the other is on the fence.
    — Dory Jackson, PEOPLE.com, 13 Apr. 2022
  • Trump has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off.
    — Compiled Bydemocrat-Gazette Stafffrom Wire Reports, Arkansas Online, 7 Apr. 2026
  • When the partner who wants to get married issues an ultimatum, the fun begins.
    — Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Chuck issued an ultimatum to Blair, asking her to meet him atop the building.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 25 June 2024
  • The gate agent boarded the aircraft and issued the ultimatum.
    — Elliott Hester, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2021
  • The headache for Ek set in last week when rock star Neil Young issued an ultimatum.
    — Abram Brown, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2022
  • So Abby gave her an ultimatum — no slippers, no dance — and Joanne said, fine, no dance.
    — Martha Sorren, Woman's Day, 3 July 2019
  • The rescue explained that the husband never wanted to give up the dog, but his wife’s ultimatum left him no choice.
    — Ashley Vega, People.com, 13 June 2025
  • Recently, my wife gave me an ultimatum.
    — Abigail Van Buren, Boston Herald, 1 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ultimatum.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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