Men·ace v. t. [imp. & p. p. Menaced p. pr. & vb. n. Menacing ]
1. To express or show an intention to inflict, or to hold out a prospect of inflicting, evil or injury upon; to threaten; -- usually followed by with before the harm threatened; as, to menace a country with war.
My master . . . did menace me with death. --Shak.
2. To threaten, as an evil to be inflicted.
By oath he menaced
Revenge upon the cardinal. --Shak.
menacing
adj : threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments; "a
baleful look"; "forbidding thunderclouds"; "his tone
became menacing"; "ominous rumblings of discontent";
"sinister storm clouds"; "a sinister smile"; "his
threatening behavior"; "ugly black clouds"; "the
situation became ugly" [syn: baleful, forbidding, minacious,
minatory, ominous, sinister, threatening, ugly]