- present participle of menace.
menacing
Americanadjective
Synonym Usage
See ominous.
Other Word 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.
“War of the Worlds” turned them back into the menacing aggressors of 1950s sci-fi films like “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” and “Invaders From Mars.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
The straw has a strange menacing string running through it and poking out of the tip, and the cup’s utility is squished into near-unrecognizability.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
“It’s so deeply strange — dark and funny, hopeful and menacing all at once,” Philbin said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Looking like a life jacket thrown into a car compactor, the work weaves a floppy beam of hazard-orange steel around and through a menacing conglomeration of rusty metal scraps.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
But by the late twenties, as he had witnessed the menacing rise of eugenics in the United States, he had begun to reconsider his enthusiasm.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
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.
