menace
Americannoun
-
menaces
plural
-
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)
-
menaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
menaced,
past participle, past
-
menacing
present participle
-
to utter or direct a threat against; threaten.
-
to serve as a probable threat to; imperil.
overdevelopment that menaces our suburbs.
verb (used without object)
-
menaces,
present (3rd person singular)
-
menaced,
past participle, past
-
menacing
present participle
verb
noun
-
literary a threat or the act of threatening
-
something menacing; a source of danger
-
informal a nuisance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
menacesimple
-
menacessimple
-
have menacedperfect
-
has menacedperfect
-
am menacingprogressive
-
are menacingprogressive
-
is menacingprogressive
-
have been menacingperfect progressive
-
has been menacingperfect progressive
Past
-
menacedsimple
-
had menacedperfect
-
was menacingprogressive
-
were menacingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
He’s a menace on stage in the best way possible, almost defying an audience to like him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
In adapting the premise for TV, series creator Nick Antosca dilutes the movies’ naked menace by pouring reasonable doubt into both Max’s profile and that of the Bowdens, the married lawyers behind his downfall.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
Meanwhile, Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, arguably the world's best right back, was a constant menace both on the ball and in the Canadian players' faces, while creative fulcrum Brahim Diaz claimed two assists.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Popular culture has often portrayed the species as a dangerous menace, contributing to a reputation that many scientists argue is exaggerated.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
It was also shielding its simmering menace, hiding it more than usual, and Jam sent it a silent thank-you for that.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
The District of Columbia teems with nonprofits dedicated to the proposition that one thing or another menaces the citizenry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
EU officials said that as part of the efforts they want to step up the mandatory registration of drones across the bloc to be able to better keep track of potential menaces.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
It is a disgrace, he says, that the energy firms can send out "menaces" like that over a problem of their making.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
Judging from critical success in their careers, the Chrises have all played an array of roles — from lovable goofballs to cold-hearted menaces — and starred in box office hits and box office flops.
From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2022
Holding kids deemed menaces to society in a place that would be completely normal if not for the twelve-foot barbed-wire-topped fences seems like someone’s bad idea of a joke.
From "Dear Martin" by Nic Stone
Hawaii was menaced by Hurricane Fausto last month, before the storm weakened and skirted north of the island chain.
From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026
Even when the whole family is menaced, as in “Poltergeist,” the evil entities have a special yearning to possess little blonde girls.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2025
They have been menaced for money over dropped passes and missed shots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025
In the war’s heady early months, after Russian forces menaced Kyiv but then were forced to pull back, people flocked to the square to take selfies, and children played tag between the hulking wrecks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
The villagers remembered Matty as a fun-loving young man who had been destroyed when he fought the evil, unknowable forces that had menaced the village in those harsher times, seven years earlier.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
The same grin can look menacing or jovial, depending on how Thatcher contorts the rest of her features.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Blake was, by turns, crude, evasive, combative and menacing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
In this sense, the Backrooms reveal how digital culture is beginning to reshape experiences traditionally associated with tourism, allowing for the mundane to become menacing.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Whether he was playing steely but likeable heroes or a chillingly menacing villains, Neill was one of the most versatile stars in the film industry and always commanded attention on screen.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Lady Constance took a menacing step toward Penelope.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
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.
