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menacingly

 - 4 dictionary results

men·ace

   [men-is] noun, verb,-aced, -ac·ing.
–noun
1.
something that threatens to cause evil, harm, injury, etc.; a threat: Air pollution is a menace to health.
2.
a person whose actions, attitudes, or ideas are considered dangerous or harmful: When he gets behind the wheel of a car, he's a real menace.
3.
an extremely annoying person.
–verb (used with object)
4.
to utter or direct a threat against; threaten.
5.
to serve as a probable threat to; imperil.
–verb (used without object)
6.
to express or serve as a threat.
Use menacingly in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < MF < L minācia, equiv. to mināc- (s. of mināx) jutting out, threatening + -ia -ia

—Related forms
men·ac·er, noun
men·ac·ing·ly, adverb
non·men·ac·ing, adjective
pre·men·ace, noun, verb (used with object),-aced, -ac·ing.
un·men·aced, adjective
un·men·ac·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

menace
c.1300, "declaration of hostile intent," also "act of threatening," from O.Fr. menace, from V.L. minacia "threat, menace," sing. of L. minaciæ "threatening things," from minax (gen. minacis) "threatening," from minari "threaten, jut, project," from minæ "threats, projecting points." Applied to persons from 1936. The verb is attested from c.1300. Related: Menaced; menacing; menacingly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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men·ace   (měn'ĭs)   
n.  

    1. A possible danger; a threat: the menace of nuclear war.

    2. The act of threatening.

  2. A troublesome or annoying person: a toddler who was a menace in a shop full of crystal.

v.   men·aced, men·ac·ing, men·ac·es

v.   tr.

  1. To utter threats against.

  2. To constitute a threat to; endanger.

v.   intr.
To make threats.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *minācia, sing. of Latin mināciae, threats, menaces, from mināx, mināc-, threatening, from minārī, to threaten, from minae, threats; see men-2 in Indo-European roots.]
men'ac·er n., men'ac·ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: menace
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: men·aced; men·ac·ing transitive verb
1 : to make a show of intention to harm
2 : to represent or pose a threat to intransitive verb : to act in a threatening manner —men·ac·ing·ly adverb
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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