Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Menace

//ˈmɛnɪs// noun, verb, slang

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A perceived threat or danger.

    "the dark menace of the distant war."

  2. 2
    a threat or the act of threatening wordnet
  3. 3
    The act of threatening.
  4. 4
    something that is a source of danger wordnet
  5. 5
    An annoying and bothersome person or thing. informal
Verb
  1. 1
    To make threats against (someone); to intimidate. ambitransitive, transitive

    "to menace a country with war"

  2. 2
    act in a threatening manner wordnet
  3. 3
    To threaten (an evil to be inflicted). ambitransitive

    "Upon his browes was pourtraid vgly death, And in his eies the furies of his heart, That ſhine as Comets, menacing reueng, And caſts a pale complexion on his cheeks."

  4. 4
    express a threat either by an utterance or a gesture wordnet
  5. 5
    To endanger (someone or something); to imperil or jeopardize. ambitransitive
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    pose a threat to; present a danger to wordnet

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English manace, from Old French manace, menace, &c., from Late Latin minācia (“threat, menace”), from Latin mināx (“threatening”) + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns).

Etymology 2

First attested in 1303: from Middle English manacen, from Old French menacer, manecier, manechier and Anglo-Norman manasser, from the assumed Vulgar Latin *mināciāre, from Latin minācia, whence the noun.

See also for "menace"

Synonyms Antonyms Rhymes Sentences Translate Word Type Pronunciation Word Forms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciation

Mini challenge

Unscramble this word: menace