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

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

Examples of menacing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy. —David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Apr. 2025

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras, wrestling as Ivan Koloff, became synonymous with the menacing Soviet villain. —Raja Krishnamoorthi, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2025

Ahead, Entertainment Weekly sits down with Charles and Minghella to unpack what to expect from this menacing new character, the relationship between Nick and Wharton, Nick's deadly mistake, and more. —Lauren Huff, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2025

Enter the Silver Surfer — the slick and menacing (and female) villain received with screams and cheers in the CinemaCon theater. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above