menaces
Poses danger to
Menaces are things that threaten harm or danger, or people who behave in a threatening way.
The word carries a sense of looming trouble rather than immediate attack: The abandoned building became a menace to the neighborhood.
A person described as a menace is either genuinely dangerous or, more casually, just annoying and disruptive: That kid is a menace on his skateboard.
As a verb, to menace is to threaten or intimidate someone.
Source of potential harm
- perilSerious threat of harm
- riskPossibility of harm
- threatIndication of potential harm
- jeopardyRisk of harm
vulnerability · exposure · pitfall · minefield · precariousness · insecurity · uncertainty · emergency
Aggressive repeated intimidation
- coercionPressured compliance through threats
- harassmentAggressive, unwanted targeting
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- terrorizingInstilling extreme fear
blackmail · extortion · hazing · hostility · threatening · browbeating · stalking · looming
Suggesting something bad approaches
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- eerieDisturbingly strange
- unsettlingCausing unease or discomfort
looming · shadowy · threatening · chilling · brooding · dark · gathering storm · impending
hazard
Source of potential harm
jeopardy · vulnerability · exposure · pitfall · minefield · precariousness · insecurity · uncertainty · emergency · crisis
bullying
Aggressive repeated intimidation
- coercionPressured compliance through threats
- harassmentAggressive, unwanted targeting
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
terrorizing · blackmail · extortion · hazing · hostility · threatening · browbeating · stalking · looming · scare tactics
ominous
Suggesting something bad approaches
- forebodingFearful anticipation of harm
- sinisterThreateningly suggestive of harm
- eerieDisturbingly strange
unsettling · looming · shadowy · threatening · chilling · brooding · dark · gathering storm · impending · lurking
bully
Habitual intimidator
- tyrantCruel, absolute ruler
- terroristViolent political intimidator
- gangsterCriminal organization member
villain · antagonist · predator · assailant · aggressor · thug · hoodlum · ruffian · troublemaker · delinquent
menacesprotects
Defends from threat
guards · safeguards · shields · defends · secures
menacesreassures
Restores another's confidence
comforts · soothes · calms · reassurances · encourages
- Phantom MenaceImaginary or invisible danger
- menacing lookHostile gaze meant to intimidate
- Dennis the Menace
- red menaceCold War term for Soviet threat
- green menace