What does menace mean?
Menace means a threat of danger or harm, and it can also describe a person or thing likely to cause trouble or violence. As a noun, “a menace to public safety” identifies something that endangers the public, while “a menace” can refer directly to a threatening individual. As a verb, “menace” means to threaten someone, often with an implication of intimidating or hostile conduct. The word is used in both British and American English and carries a forceful, ominous tone. It is especially common in journalism, public safety reporting, literature, and political or legal language, where it emphasizes the seriousness of a danger or the threatening behaviour of a person. Although “threaten” is the more neutral everyday alternative, “menace” can add a sense of menace, hostility, or alarm. Related forms include the adjective “menacing,” the verb form “menaced,” and the chiefly American agent noun “menacer.”
A person or thing that is likely to cause harm, or a threat of danger or harmful action.
"The contaminated river was a menace to every community downstream."
The sense referring to a threatening person is especially common in British and American English. The term often implies danger and intimidation rather than a minor or abstract risk.
To threaten someone with danger, harm, punishment, or hostile action.
"The report warned that further industrial pollution would menace public health."
This verb is more emphatic and literary than the neutral verb “threaten,” often suggesting an immediate or intimidating danger.
The regular plural is used for both abstract threats and threatening people or things.
"The guards warned that several menaces had been spotted near the perimeter."
Menace comes from the Latin minax, meaning “threatening” or “dangerous.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does menace come from?
The word comes through Old French from Latin minax, meaning “threatening” or “dangerous,” a form related to minari, “to threaten” or “to project.” English developed both noun and verb uses from this source, with the noun meaning a threat and the verb meaning to threaten. Cognates in English include “minatory,” “minacity,” and the now uncommon “mination,” all of which reflect the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How menace is actually used
The word has a strongly hostile and often deliberately alarming connotation. As a noun, it may describe either an abstract threat or an actual person; as a verb, it is somewhat literary and tends to be stronger and more dramatic than the ordinary verb “threaten.”