menace

A possible danger; a threat.

The quality of being threatening.

A troublesome or annoying person.

To constitute a threat to; endanger.

A threat or threatening; the declaration or indication of a hostile intention, or of a probable evil to come.

Synonyms See the verb.

To threaten; hold out a threat against; express a hostile intention toward, or indicate danger to: followed by with before the threatened evil when expressed: as, the storm menaced the ship with destruction.

To hold out threats of; indicate the danger or risk of.

Synonyms Menace, Threaten. Threaten is of very general application, in both great and little things: as, to be threatened with a cold; a threatening cloud; to threaten an attack along the whole line. Threaten is used with infinitives, especially of action, but menace is not: as, to threaten to come, to punish. Menace belongs to dignified style and matters of moment.