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

This is the cruel reality of the mindless menace of gun violence in our city. — Asal Rezaei, CBS News, 21 June 2026

There’s an adolescent’s sense of menace and taboo in her work, too, which often revolves around predatory adults and the vulnerable young women who counterintuitively welcome their abuse. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 17 June 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

If the sky becomes menacing and thunder becomes audible, seek out a safe place to seek shelter. — Star-Telegram Weather Bot, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 July 2026

Kevin Maxwell, 37, of Canarsie, Brooklyn, was charged with assault and menacing, both as hate crimes, and acting in a manner injurious to a child. — John Annese, New York Daily News, 5 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