Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A possible danger; a threat.
- noun The quality of being threatening.
- noun A troublesome or annoying person.
- transitive verb To constitute a threat to; endanger.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A threat or threatening; the declaration or indication of a hostile intention, or of a probable evil to come.
- noun Synonyms See the verb.
- To threaten; hold out a threat against; express a hostile intention toward, or indicate danger to: followed by with before the threatened evil when expressed: as, the storm menaced the ship with destruction.
- To hold out threats of; indicate the danger or risk of.
- Synonyms Menace, Threaten. Threaten is of very general application, in both great and little things: as, to be threatened with a cold; a threatening cloud; to threaten an attack along the whole line. Threaten is used with infinitives, especially of action, but menace is not: as, to
threaten to come, to punish. Menace belongs to dignified style and matters of moment. - To be threatening; indicate danger or coming harm; threaten.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The show of an intention to inflict evil; a threat or threatening; indication of a probable evil or catastrophe to come.
- intransitive verb To act in threatening manner; to wear a threatening aspect.
- transitive verb To express or show an intention to inflict, or to hold out a prospect of inflicting, evil or injury upon; to threaten; -- usually followed by
with before the harm threatened. - transitive verb To threaten, as an evil to be inflicted.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a
perceived threat ordanger - noun the act of
threatening - noun an
annoying andbothersome person - verb to make threats (against someone); to
intimidate - verb to
endanger someone or something; toimperil orjeopardize
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb pose a threat to; present a danger to
- verb act in a threatening manner
- noun a threat or the act of threatening
- noun something that is a source of danger
- verb express a threat either by an utterance or a gesture
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Elsewhere, you note that the word "menace" gets attached to the sport.
The New Yorker Ian Crouch 2011
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Similar warnings are being issued across the country as Republican presidential candidates, elected officials and activists mobilize against what they describe as the menace of Islamic law in the United States.
NYT > Home Page By ANDREA ELLIOTT 2011
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Similar warnings are being issued across the country as Republican presidential candidates, elected officials and activists mobilize against what they describe as the menace of Islamic law in the United States.
NYT > Home Page By ANDREA ELLIOTT 2011
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Similar warnings are being issued across the country as Republican presidential candidates, elected officials and activists mobilize against what they describe as the menace of Islamic law in the United States.
NYT > Home Page By ANDREA ELLIOTT 2011
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Matching Lassick is the title menace, played surprisingly well-considering the make-up job-by character actor Stephen Furst (
DVD Verdict 2008
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(The New World's great menace is a germ that makes men's thoughts audible and visible.)
Tales for Teens (and Others) Meghan Cox Gurdon 2010
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And so to show they too are indeed fiscally responsible grownups who wouldn't think of instigating such a financial crisis, the headline progressives more than agree that the federal deficit is indeed a very dangerous long term menace that demands appropriate attention.
Warren Mosler: Modern Monetary Theory: The Last Progressive Left Standing Warren Mosler 2011
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Hillary has, on three separate occasions, discussed the possibility that a new, unnamed triad of possible menace is forming between Russia, China, and Iran.
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And so to show they too are indeed fiscally responsible grownups who wouldn't think of instigating such a financial crisis, the headline progressives more than agree that the federal deficit is indeed a very dangerous long term menace that demands appropriate attention.
Warren Mosler: Modern Monetary Theory: The Last Progressive Left Standing Warren Mosler 2011
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The menace is palpable, the psychology of the characters is told with insight, and the book is extremely readable.
Book review Maxine 2009
arby commented on the word menace
I particularly like menace as a verb.
February 21, 2007