menace
Americannoun
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something that threatens to cause evil, harm, injury, etc.; a threat.
Air pollution is a menace to health.
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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.
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an extremely annoying person.
verb (used with object)
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to utter or direct a threat against; threaten.
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to serve as a probable threat to; imperil.
overdevelopment that menaces our suburbs.
verb (used without object)
verb
noun
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literary a threat or the act of threatening
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something menacing; a source of danger
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informal a nuisance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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menacesimple
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menacessimple
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have menacedperfect
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has menacedperfect
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am menacingprogressive
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are menacingprogressive
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is menacingprogressive
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have been menacingperfect progressive
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has been menacingperfect progressive
Past
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menacedsimple
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had menacedperfect
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was menacingprogressive
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were menacingprogressive
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had been menacingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of menace
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English manace, manance, from Middle French manace, menace, from Late Latin minācia “threat,” equivalent to mināc- (stem of mināx ) “jutting out, threatening” + -ia; verb from noun; see -ia
Explanation
If it's threatening you or otherwise posing some sort of danger, then it's a menace. Angry rabid dogs, smog clouds, and annoying little brothers are all probable menaces. The word menace works as both a noun and a verb, but it wasn't used to describe threatening or bothersome people until 1936. Before then, common menaces probably included things like the plague, locusts, and roving bands of pirate ships. Today, a bad reputation can menace an otherwise promising career, weeds can menace your garden, and burglars are a menace to society.
Vocabulary lists containing menace
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Kanye West
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"The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s a sea of nightmares in suits, and among them is Schlossberg, the Dennis the Menace we don’t deserve, don’t really want, but are burdened with regardless.
From Slate • Jun. 18, 2026
The Brady Bunch traveled there, and so did Dennis the Menace in a comic book I once owned.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 1, 2025
Child actor Jay North, famous for playing mischievous Dennis the Menace, died at 73 after a long fight with cancer.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 7, 2025
He hears the experiences of a number of other black Welsh musicians, including Juice Menace, Mace the Great, Sage Todz and Aleighcia Scott.
From BBC • Oct. 22, 2023
Then we had movies like Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society, and they made the hood look cool.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
