menacing
adjective
men·ac·ing
ˈme-nə-siŋ 
: presenting, suggesting, or constituting a menace or threat : threatening
a menacing look
menacing words
[Harold E. Edgerton] … was also one of the first to take photographs of the menacing mushroom cloud emanating from a nuclear blast.—
Benjamin Genocchio
Benjamin GenocchioRansomware is a menacing scam that involves locking businesses out of their computers and demanding payment of a ransom in exchange for the return of company systems and data.—Roger Williams
Roger WilliamsThe image is chilling: a series of menacing bear traps laid out like footsteps.—Emily DeNitto
Emily DeNitto
menacingly
adverb
A man stepped menacingly from the corner brandishing a long pole …
—Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare
"If you shout his name I will curse you into oblivion," muttered Tonks menacingly …
—J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Examples of menacing in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The menacing bonobo has accrued power by twisting the words of his namesake of several generations past, kidnapping ape clans for a sinister mission: to claim humans' ancient technologies for himself.
—Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024
In this case, the 43-year-old faces violating a protection order, inducing panic, and aggravated menacing charges.
—Jessica Schmidt, The Enquirer, 9 May 2024
The employee was fired then charged with three misdemeanors — menacing, harassment and endangering the welfare of a disabled person.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 8 May 2024
At the most menacing end of the spectrum stands the Alternative for Germany party, founded in 2013 and now polling as high as 20 percent.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
There’s a menacing beat switch and Drake turns his sights to his other opps in the music game while dissing A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Future and Rick Ross.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 May 2024
With his thick Southern accent and chin jutted out to a menacing underbite, Charlie seems like an angry bulldog ready to take a bite out of the world.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
The torture is kept offstage, communicated mainly by letter from Paul to her suffs, and, as Taub sings, McLean’s dreamy voice forms a menacing counterpoint.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
The menacing screentime the reptile has received in the Jurassic World movies has certainly helped.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
Jack Smart, Peoplemag, 10 May 2024
In this case, the 43-year-old faces violating a protection order, inducing panic, and aggravated menacing charges.
—Jessica Schmidt, The Enquirer, 9 May 2024
The employee was fired then charged with three misdemeanors — menacing, harassment and endangering the welfare of a disabled person.
—Jennifer Smith Richards, ProPublica, 8 May 2024
At the most menacing end of the spectrum stands the Alternative for Germany party, founded in 2013 and now polling as high as 20 percent.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 5 May 2024
There’s a menacing beat switch and Drake turns his sights to his other opps in the music game while dissing A$AP Rocky, The Weeknd, Metro Boomin, Future and Rick Ross.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 May 2024
With his thick Southern accent and chin jutted out to a menacing underbite, Charlie seems like an angry bulldog ready to take a bite out of the world.
—Julie Hinds, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
The torture is kept offstage, communicated mainly by letter from Paul to her suffs, and, as Taub sings, McLean’s dreamy voice forms a menacing counterpoint.
—Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 2 May 2024
The menacing screentime the reptile has received in the Jurassic World movies has certainly helped.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 May 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'menacing.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near menacing
Cite this Entry
“Menacing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menacing. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
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