Menacing — A Vocabulary Story
The Storm at Cape Agulhas
Rafael gripped the rusted railing as the wind shoved him sideways. Behind him, Cape Agulhas stretched into grey foam, the southernmost tip of Africa, where two oceans met. His sister Mariam was somewhere on the rocks below, hunting for the lucky shell their mother had described from her childhood.
"Mariam!" he shouted. "Come back up!"
The sky had turned a menacing purple, swollen with rain. Rafael had read about sudden waves here, the kind that could sweep people off the rocks. Each crashing swell looked more menacing than the last, hurling pebbles like marbles across the shelf.
Menacing means suggesting danger or harm. It also means threatening in appearance or manner.
He scrambled down the slick path. Mariam was crouched in a tide pool, her plait dripping, holding up a pearly shell with quiet triumph.
"Found it!"
"Now!" Rafael grabbed her wrist.
A menacing rumble rolled across the water, deep enough to feel in his ribs. They climbed, sandals slipping, while a wall of spray chased them up the cliff.
At the top, an old lighthouse keeper named Joseph was waving them over, his oilskin coat flapping. He pulled them through a heavy door just as a crack of thunder split the air.
Inside, the kettle whistled cheerfully against the storm. Mariam unfurled her fingers around the shell, smiling, while outside the menacing sea hurled itself uselessly against the rocks.
Word Definition
menacing
meaning
suggesting danger or harm; threatening in appearance or manner
synonyms
threatening · intimidating · ominous · sinister · alarming
antonyms
favourable · benign · promising
example sentence
The dark clouds in the sky looked menacing.