men ‧ ac ‧ ing /ˈmenəsɪŋ, ˈmenɪsɪŋ/ BrE AmE adjective
making you expect something unpleasant SYN threatening :
dark menacing clouds
a low menacing laugh
His tone grew more menacing.
—menacingly adverb :
He moved towards her menacingly.
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THESAURUS
▪ frightening making you feel frightened:
Being held at gunpoint had been the most frightening moment of his life.
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The experience was very frightening.
▪ scary especially spoken frightening. Scary is less formal than frightening and is very common in everyday English:
The movie was really scary.
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There were some scary moments.
▪ chilling frightening, especially because violence, cruelty, or danger is involved:
a chilling tale of revenge, murder and madness
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The court heard chilling details about the attack.
▪ spooky frightening and strange, especially because something involves ghosts or powers that people do not understand:
The forest is really spooky in the dark.
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a spooky coincidence
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spooky stories
▪ creepy informal frightening in a way that makes you feel nervous, especially when you are not sure exactly why – used especially about places, people, and feelings:
This place is really creepy. Let’s get out of here.
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a creepy guy
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Do you know that creepy feeling when you're sure someone’s there but you can’t see or hear anything?
▪ eerie especially literary strange and frightening:
There was an eerie silence immediately after the bomb went off.
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an eerie light
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an eerie feeling
▪ intimidating making you feel frightened, nervous, or lacking in confidence:
Big schools can be an intimidating place for young children.
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Giving evidence in court is often a rather intimidating experience.
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the intimidating presence of a large number of soldiers
▪ menacing frightening because you think someone is going to hurt you, even though they have not said or done anything violent – used especially about someone’s expression or voice:
The woman had a very menacing look.
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‘I’d like to have a word with you outside,’ he said in a menacing tone.