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

men's, men's room, men's wear, men-, men-children, menace, menacme, menad, menadiol diacetate, menadione, menado

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 Forms

menacer, 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