menacing
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See ominous.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of menacing
First recorded in 1350–1400; menace ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. )
Explanation
Something that is menacing is threatening or suggestive of coming danger. If you’re backing away slowly from something, you can probably use the adjective menacing to describe it! Menacing means “threatening” — whether it’s on purpose or not. A menacing tone is intended to scare you, but that menacing raincloud isn’t actually trying to ruin your day. Menacing can describe the behavior of a menace, but only the mean or dangerous kind — not just a pest: "The raccoon that always knocks over your garbage can is a menace, but it's not menacing (unless it also chases you around your house)."
Vocabulary lists containing menacing
The Diary of Anne Frank
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"The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell
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A Christmas Carol
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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.
Menacing signs threaten trespassers with death, but Mr Chilton has also installed drinking fountains so nobody dies making the hazardous journey.
From BBC • Sep. 27, 2024
Menacing, dangerous activity or joyful reclamation of public space?
From Slate • Apr. 25, 2023
Menacing postcards sent to the middle-aged survivors take too long to bring together all the women, who seem to have avoided one another since their return.
From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2021
Menacing clowns descend on Michigan after the 2016 presidential election in the new season of “American Horror Story.”
From New York Times • Sep. 5, 2017
Menacing with spear and arrow In the woods the hunter strayed....
From The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky, Fyodor
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.
