Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Suggesting imminent harm.
  • adjective Threatening.
  • verb Present participle of menace.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word menacing.

Examples

  • She heard his jaw pop into place as he loomed closer, his expression menacing.

    Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark: The Clan MacRieve Kresley Cole 2010

  • She heard his jaw pop into place as he loomed closer, his expression menacing.

    A Hunger Like No Other Kresley Cole 2006

  • James Mason, smoothly menacing, is the bad guy, and Eva Marie Saint the cool Hitchcock blonde with uncertain loyalties.

    North by Northwest » DVDs Worth Watching 2009

  • For the past two years, demonstrators wearing combat boots, many with their faces concealed by hoods, scarves or sunglasses, have regularly marched through Grafenberg holding burning torches and beating drums in menacing scenes that evoke Nazi-era rallies.

    Neo-Nazi Violence: German Mayor in Hiding after Far-Right Threat 2009

  • “The street activity often results in menacing interaction with members of the public and has been known to be aggressive and persistent at times,” the petition states.

    Australia: Scientologists hit out at criticis 2009

  • Picture of Sweet Baby James at play: Godzilla today, arms stiffly outstretched, legs march forward in menacing, Japanese slow motion.

    Sweet Baby James Rachel Lora Simmons 2010

  • (Clasps fingers in menacing, Mr. Burns-esque fashion) ...

    Your Right Hand Thief 2008

  • Slightly menacing is the smell of the fire on the rocky hillside above my house, where slash and burn agriculture is still practiced.

    Coyote's laughter 2001

  • Two states of the greatest magnitude, both eventually armed with the deadliest weapons ever manufactured for war, confronted each other in menacing guise surrounded by their allies.

    Imperial Legacy 1970

  • The time when in proud and happy security we assembled at this cottage, was gone -- soon the present hours would join those past, and shadows of future ones rose dark and menacing from the womb of time, their cradle and their bier.

    II.7 1826

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.