menace

[ men-is ]

/ ˈmɛn ɪs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR menace ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

something that threatens to cause evil, harm, injury, etc.; a threat: Air pollution is a menace to health.

a person whose actions, attitudes, or ideas are considered dangerous or harmful: When he gets behind the wheel of a car, he's a real menace.

an extremely annoying person.

verb (used with object), men·aced, men·ac·ing.

to utter or direct a threat against; threaten.

to serve as a probable threat to; imperil.

verb (used without object), men·aced, men·ac·ing.

to express or serve as a threat.

Nearby words

Origin of menace

1250–1300; Middle English < Middle French < Latin minācia, equivalent to mināc- (stem of mināx) jutting out, threatening + -ia -ia

Related forms

men·ac·er, nounmen·ac·ing·ly, adverbnon·men·ac·ing, adjectivepre·men·ace, noun, verb (used with object), pre·men·aced, pre·men·ac·ing.

un·men·aced, adjectiveun·men·ac·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for menace

Hitchcock leans toward me in a conspiratorial, almost lascivious, way and says, “Let's pile on the menace.”
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The menace and abuse was constant; it reads as a household under siege.
Alan Cumming: The Truth About My Father|Tim Teeman|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unbridled nationalism is a menace; it leads to trade wars and, all too often, real wars.
The United States Needs Corporate 'Loyalty Oaths'|Jonathan Alter|August 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I am convinced that the only way to fight this menace is by attacking it on many fronts,” he said in a letter to Congress.
Chris Christie to the Drug War: I Wish I Knew How to Quit You|Olivia Nuzzi, Abby Haglage|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Within the larger political backdrop, ISIS survived and grew into the menace that it is today.
Iran Is the Biggest Loser in Iraq|Aki Peritz|June 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It seems to feel that every offer of kindness or familiarity is a menace to its liberty.
St. Nicholas v. 13 No. 9 July 1886|Various
The island was a menace to coasters and bore an uncanny reputation.
Pocket Island|Charles Clark Munn
Perhaps a menace of publicity, rather than risk, was the cause of the wearing strain on him.
The Rustlers of Pecos County|Zane Grey
There was presentiment and menace in every minute of that brief half-hour.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
It was that of an old man—my father's,—and the menace with which the arms were lifted froze the blood in my veins.
Cynthia Wakeham's Money|Anna Katharine Green

British Dictionary definitions for menace

menace

/ (ˈmɛnɪs) /

verb

to threaten with violence, danger, etc

noun

literary a threat or the act of threatening

something menacing; a source of danger

informal a nuisance

Derived Formsmenacer, nounmenacing, adjectivemenacingly, adverb

Word Origin for menace

C13: ultimately related to Latin minax threatening, from mināri to threaten

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for menace (1 of 2)

menace

c.1300, "declaration of hostile intent," also "act of threatening," from Old French menace "menace, threat" (9c.), from Vulgar Latin minacia "threat, menace" (also source of Spanish amenaza, Italian minaccia), singular of Latin minaciæ "threatening things," from minax (genitive minacis) "threatening," from minari "threaten, jut, project," from minæ "threats, projecting points," from PIE root *men- (2) "to project." Applied to persons from 1936.

Word Origin and History for menace (1 of 2)

menace

c.1300, from Old French menacer "threaten, urge" (11c.), Anglo-French manasser, from Vulgar Latin *minaciare "to threaten," from minacia (see menace (n.)). Related: Menaced; menacing.

menace

noun

verb (used with object), men·aced, men·ac·ing.

verb (used without object), men·aced, men·ac·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of menace

Examples from the Web for menace

British Dictionary definitions for menace

menace

verb

noun

Word Origin for menace

Word Origin and History for menace (1 of 2)

menace

Word Origin and History for menace (1 of 2)

menace