Certain misunderstandings in interpersonal communication can be a consequence of the speaker's need to protect themself or the hearer from threatening information. That need, which is often described as an effect of politeness on communication, can lead to the speaker manipulating the term used to communicate threatening information. The goal of this research is to examine how people choose terms with which they communicate the likelihood of threatening events. Specifically, this research aims to discern if probability of an outcome, level of threat of the outcome and emotional sensitivity of the person communicating affect the speaker's choice of term for communicating the probability of the outcome to others. Participants (N = 669) were given six scenarios in which outcome probability and level of threat were manipulated. Participants had the task of choosing a probability term with which they would communicate to others the probability of the described outcome. Participants' sensitivity was measured with 12-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale. The results indicate that participants on average communicate a smaller probability of more threatening outcomes, compared to less threatening outcomes, only in scenarios where outcome probability was 50%. In other words, participants diminished the probability of more threatening outcomes only in scenarios where the likelihood of the outcome happening and not happening was the same. When there was a bigger probability of the outcome happening/ not happening, there was no difference in communicating outcomes with different levels of threat. Furthermore, highly sensitive participants on average chose probability terms that indicated a higher likelihood of the outcome happening, regardless of outcome threat level.