noun / verb
menace
MEN-us/ˈmenəs/
A threat of harm or trouble, or to pose such a threat.
The snarling dog is a menace to the passerby.
Etymology
The French ancestor meant “threat,” and the English noun initially described a declaration of hostile intent or an act of threatening. The selected sense applies that idea to whoever or whatever poses the danger.
In context
he was beginning to understand why the search for him was being pressed so relentlessly as long as he remained alive he was a menace to everybody in the first century world
More examples
- Loose dogs became a menace to cyclists.
- Dark clouds menaced the afternoon picnic.
- The abandoned mine posed a serious menace to visitors.
Forms
menace · menaces · menaced · menacing