menacing

1 of 2

adjective

men·​ac·​ing ˈme-nə-siŋ 

: presenting, suggesting, or constituting a menace or threat : threatening entry 1

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

Ransomware 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

The image is chilling: a series of menacing bear traps laid out like footsteps.

—Emily DeNitto

menacingly adverb

A man stepped menacingly from the corner brandishing a long pole …

—Elizabeth George Speare

"If you shout his name I will curse you into oblivion," muttered Tonks menacingly …

—J. K. Rowling

menacing

2 of 2

present participle of menace entry 2

Examples of menacing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

This establishment of this family-friendly version of Castle Rock led to Pumpkinhead 2’s final scene, which teases the arrival of a menacing, giggly presence from Afraid of Clowns. — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2026

And Dastmalchian, who portrays Bison with an emphasis on sniveling evil, struggles to quietly undercut the character’s cartoonishly menacing getup. — Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2026

Andy Warhol, working from a photograph that had appeared in a pinup magazine featuring Mat Queens, created a silk screen of Drexler as Rosa, mid-lunge, at once menacing and seductive. — Leslie Camhi, New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2026

Hyde’s long brown leather coat gives him a menacing presence, cementing the sense that something dangerous has taken over. — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 15 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English manacyng, from present participle of manacen "to menace entry 2"

First Known Use

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined above