menace

noun men·ace \ ˈme-nəs \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: menace in a Sentence

Definition of menace

1 : a show of intention to inflict harm : threat

exploding in menaces and threats of vengeance
—George Meredith

2 a : one that represents a threat : danger

the intoxicated motorist is a menace to life and limb
—Wayne Hughes

b : an annoying person

her friends were beginning to find her a menace
—Guy McCrone

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See menace defined for kids

Examples of menace in a Sentence

There was an atmosphere of menace in the city.
She could hear the menace in his voice.

Recent Examples of menace from the Web

Their cultural capital is falling, their privilege checked right and left, their tendency toward violent rage examined, fretted over, diagnosed as an American menace.

— taylor antrim, Vogue, "True Crime Meets Male Entitlement in the Electrifying American Animals," 31 May 2018
To North Koreans, the U.S. is portrayed as a brutal world menace.

— chris woodyard, USA TODAY, "New book: Insider's account of North Korea reveals why Trump may be forever disappointed," 29 May 2018
To the Nazis, a media empire run by liberal Jews was a grave offense and a threat, and the Reich frequently singled out the Mosse family as a public menace.

— berthold steinhilber, Smithsonian, "The Lost Maidens of Berlin," 24 May 2018
Over the last days, two new fissures --- ground cracks bursting with lava -- remind the Big Island of the Kilauea volcano's menace.

— mark strassmann, CBS News, "Hawaii's Kilauea volcano eruption: More cracks open, others come back to life," 18 May 2018
The dances, the alliterative place-names, the dearth of true postapocalyptic menace: these can indicate a lack of seriousness that to some seems spell-breaking.

— nick paumgarten, The New Yorker, "How Fortnite Captured Teens’ Hearts and Minds," 14 May 2018
What had been seen as a nuisance crime enforced sporadically by local police now was seen as a growing menace worthy of federal attention.

— richard ruelas, azcentral, "How outsourcing to India gave federal prosecutors a window into Backpage operations," 12 Apr. 2018
Fans of Jesus Lizard will appreciate the sense of raving menace in some of these songs.

— john adamian, courant.com, "Kal Marks To Play MAC650," 19 May 2018
The couple, who lives in The Lakes in North Charleston, started their week in 5 a.m. standoff with the reptilian menace.

— christopher brito, CBS News, "South Carolina couple wakes up to 7-foot hissing alligator on their front porch," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'menace.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of menace

Middle English manace, from Anglo-French manace, menace, from Latin minacia, from minac-, minax threatening, from minari to threaten — more at mount

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year