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
Benjamin GenocchioRansomware 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
Roger WilliamsThe image is chilling: a series of menacing bear traps laid out like footsteps. Emily DeNitto
Emily DeNitto menacingly adverb
A man stepped menacingly from the corner brandishing a long pole … Elizabeth George Speare
Elizabeth George Speare "If you shout his name I will curse you into oblivion," muttered Tonks menacingly … J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling 
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
menacing 1 of 2
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
Relevance
- ominous
- sinister
- threatening
- bleak
- darkening
- foreboding
- dark
- somber
- portentous
- minatory
- murky
- baleful
- lonely
- black
- dire
- depressive
- desolate
- inauspicious
- direful
- doomy
- gray
- depressing
- ill
- unfortunate
- ill-boding
- sullen
- cold
- morbid
- saturnine
- morose
- unfavorable
- lugubrious
- grey
- gloomy
- dim
- cheerless
- sepulchral
- discouraging
- lonesome
- troubled
- elegiac
- forlorn
- glum
- dismal
- evil
- disconsolate
- dreary
- plutonian
- tenebrous
- sombre
- chill
- funereal
- godforsaken
- malignant
- drear
- unpromising
- hopeless
- miserable
- comfortless
- cloudy
- unpropitious
- disheartening
- malign
- sunless
- elegiacal
- wretched
- dreich
- unlucky
- tenebrific
- Cimmerian
- ill-fated
- ill-starred
- star-crossed
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- unthreatening
- benign
- favorable
- promising
- bright
- encouraging
- golden
- hopeful
- prosperous
- 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
- jeopardizing
- grievous
- destructive
- random
- uncertain
- unpleasant
- parlous
- lethal
- deadly
- harmful
- fatal
- murderous
- venturesome
- sickening
- insecure
- detrimental
- ugly
- evil
- adverse
- malignant
- bad
- killer
- nasty
- wicked
- fell
- pernicious
- noxious
- haphazard
- distressing
- dicey
- injurious
- chance
- inimical
- deleterious
- dire
- baleful
- hurtful
- deathly
- ill
- ultrahazardous
- baneful
- mortal
- fateful
- pestilent
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- innocuous
- harmless
- innocent
- nonthreatening
- safe
- unthreatening
- good
- beneficial
- nonhazardous
- advantageous
- ultrasafe
menacing
2 of 2verb
1
as in threatening
to place in danger menaced the children by leaving them in the car unattended Synonyms & Similar Words
- threatening
- endangering
- risking
- intimidating
- compromising
- jeopardizing
- imperiling
- perilling
- imperilling
- periling
- jeoparding
- venturing
- hazarding
- adventuring
- gambling (with)
- subjecting
- exposing
- wagering
- chancing
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- protecting
- guarding
- shielding
- sheltering
- preserving
- saving
- resuming
2
as in endangering
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
- endangering
- overhanging
- imperiling
- jeopardizing
- perilling
- periling
- imperilling
- impending (over)
- hanging (over)
- hovering (over)
- hazarding