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minatory

[min-uh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]
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adjective
  1. menacing; threatening.
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Also min·a·to·ri·al.

Origin of minatory

1525–35; < Late Latin minātōrius, equivalent to Latin minā(rī) to menace + -tōrious -tory1
Related formsmin·a·to·ri·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

aggressive, alarming, apocalyptic, baleful, baneful, black, bullying, cautionary, close, dangerous, dire, fateful, forthcoming, grim, ill-boding, imminent, impending, inauspicious, looming, lowering

Examples from the Web for minatory

Historical Examples

  • The harsh, minatory note of that voice sufficiently expressed the fact.

    Captain Blood

    Rafael Sabatini

  • Number 3, Lauriston Gardens wore an ill-omened and minatory look.

    A Study In Scarlet

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • The parson is very brisk when he reaches the minatory clause in his sermon.

    Ralph the Heir

    Anthony Trollope

  • And to these his appeal was persuasive and suggestive, never didactic or minatory.

    The Soul of Susan Yellam

    Horace Annesley Vachell

  • The unrestful, the well-organised and minatory sea had been advancing quickly.

    And Even Now

    Max Beerbohm

British Dictionary definitions for minatory

minatory

minatorial

adjective
  1. threatening or menacing
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Derived Formsminatorily or minatorially, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Late Latin minātōrius, from Latin minārī 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

Word Origin and History for minatory

adj.

"expressing a threat, 1530s, from Middle French minatoire, from Late Latin minatorius, from minat-, stem of minari "to threaten" (see menace (n.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper