Synonyms of menace

menace 1 of 4

noun

ˈme-nəs 

as in threat

something that may cause injury or harm

a loaded gun is a menace that this household doesn't need

Synonyms & Similar Words

• threat
• danger
• risk
• peril
• hazard
• imminence
• trouble
• pitfall
• snare
• trap
• booby trap

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protection
• guard
• ward
• shield
• harbor
• safeguard
• refuge
• shelter
• retreat
• asylum
• haven

menace

2 of 4

verb (1)

1

as in to endanger

to place in danger

menaced the children by leaving them in the car unattended

Synonyms & Similar Words

• endanger
• threaten
• risk
• adventure
• compromise
• jeopardize
• hazard
• peril
• imperil
• venture
• jeopard
• gamble (with)
• intimidate
• subject
• expose
• chance
• wager

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protect
• guard
• shelter
• save
• preserve
• shield
• resume

2

as in to threaten

to remain poised to inflict harm, danger, or distress on

stockpiles of nuclear weapons that continue to menace the inhabitants of this planet

Synonyms & Similar Words

• threaten
• hang (over)
• endanger
• overhang
• hover (over)
• impend (over)
• jeopardize
• peril
• imperil
• hazard

menacing

3 of 4

adjective

1

as in ominous

being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come

warns that the emergence of new viruses is one of the most menacing developments we face

Synonyms & Similar Words

• ominous
• sinister
• threatening
• bleak
• dark
• somber
• foreboding
• portentous
• murky
• lonely
• darkening
• minatory
• black
• baleful
• dire
• desolate
• direful
• inauspicious
• depressive
• gray
• ill
• unfortunate
• depressing
• doomy
• ill-boding
• cold
• morbid
• unfavorable
• sullen
• dim
• saturnine
• morose
• gloomy
• lugubrious
• cheerless
• sepulchral
• lonesome
• discouraging
• elegiac
• troubled
• dismal
• forlorn
• disconsolate
• funereal
• glum
• dreary
• evil
• chill
• hopeless
• unpromising
• miserable
• malignant
• drear
• comfortless
• cloudy
• unpropitious
• disheartening
• tenebrous
• malign
• plutonian
• godforsaken
• wretched
• Cimmerian
• unlucky
• dreich
• sunless
• tenebrific
• ill-fated
• ill-starred
• star-crossed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• favorable
• benign
• bright
• promising
• unthreatening
• golden
• encouraging
• prosperous
• hopeful
• auspicious
• propitious
• heartening

2

as in dangerous

involving potential loss or injury

fears that the unemployment rate may be reaching menacing proportions

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dangerous
• hazardous
• perilous
• risky
• serious
• threatening
• unsafe
• treacherous
• precarious
• grave
• unhealthy
• grievous
• venturesome
• random
• destructive
• parlous
• uncertain
• unpleasant
• jeopardizing
• fatal
• harmful
• detrimental
• sickening
• lethal
• insecure
• murderous
• deadly
• ugly
• adverse
• bad
• evil
• malignant
• killer
• nasty
• haphazard
• wicked
• chance
• distressing
• pernicious
• noxious
• dicey
• injurious
• baleful
• fell
• deleterious
• inimical
• baneful
• hurtful
• dire
• ultrahazardous
• ill
• fateful
• mortal
• deathly
• pestilent

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• harmless
• innocuous
• innocent
• safe
• nonthreatening
• good
• beneficial
• unthreatening
• nonhazardous
• advantageous
• ultrasafe

menacing

4 of 4

verb (2)

present participle of menace

1

as in endangering

to place in danger

menaced the children by leaving them in the car unattended

Synonyms & Similar Words

• endangering
• threatening
• risking
• compromising
• jeopardizing
• intimidating
• imperiling
• gambling (with)
• venturing
• periling
• hazarding
• jeoparding
• adventuring
• subjecting
• exposing
• wagering
• chancing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protecting
• guarding
• shielding
• preserving
• saving
• sheltering
• resuming

2

as in threatening

to remain poised to inflict harm, danger, or distress on

stockpiles of nuclear weapons that continue to menace the inhabitants of this planet

Synonyms & Similar Words

• threatening
• hanging (over)
• endangering
• hovering (over)
• impending (over)
• overhanging
• jeopardizing
• imperiling
• periling
• hazarding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of menace

Noun

As much as Kelly might be milking this attention, being subjected to such a high-level threat can arouse serious menace from the acolyte mobs. — Mark Leibovich, The Atlantic, 20 July 2026

Those menaces to society take their street tactics with them behind bars and prey on each other. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 20 July 2026

Verb

Fueled by gusting winds and warm temperatures, multiple large wildfires continued to menace Southern California on Wednesday, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate, authorities said. — Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 20 May 2026

Donald menaced Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow all game, recording two sacks, four combined tackles, two tackles for loss, and three QB hits in one of the most dominant defensive performances in Super Bowl history. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 15 May 2026

Adjective

Andrew Truelove, 41, was taken into custody and charged with burglary as well as menacing, with both charges as hate crimes. — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 1 Aug. 2026

In the new film, Peter is battling loneliness and struggling to reconnect with MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batlaon), while at the same time losing control of his developing superpowers as a menacing new villain (Sink) threatens New York City. — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Verb

Santiago was charged with menacing a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon. — Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026

Some argue that the only way to stop Iran from menacing the region and its people is to crush this regime. — Dennis Ross, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026