- to threaten with violence, danger, etc
- literary a threat or the act of threatening
- something menacing; a source of danger
- informal a nuisance
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
men•ac•ing /ˈmɛnəsɪŋ/USA pronunciation adj.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- threatening:menacing looks.
men•ace /ˈmɛnɪs/USA pronunciation
n., v., -aced, -ac•ing.
n.
v. [~ + object]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026n.
- someone or something that threatens to cause evil, etc.;
a threat:[countable]He is a menace to society and should be locked away. - the quality of such danger or behavior:[uncountable]said with quiet menace, "No one is leaving.''
v. [~ + object]
- to threaten;
put in danger:A gang menaced the students.
men•ace
(men′is),USA pronunciation n., v., -aced, -ac•ing.
n.
v.t.
v.i.
men′ac•er, n.
men′ac•ing•ly, adv.
n.
- 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.
v.t.
- to utter or direct a threat against;
threaten. - to serve as a probable threat to;
imperil.
v.i.
- to express or serve as a threat.
- Latin minācia, equivalent. to mināc- (stem of mināx) jutting out, threatening + -ia -ia
- Middle French
- Middle English 1250–1300
men′ac•ing•ly, adv.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
menace /ˈmɛnɪs/ vb
'menacing' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):