minatory
/mi'neiʃəs/ Cách viết khác : (minatory) /'minətəri/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective 1. Threatening or menacing: Expressing or suggesting a threat of harm, danger, or evil. It describes something that serves as a warning of possible bad or tragic events to come.
Usage
The adjective "minatory" is a formal and literary word used to describe actions, words, appearances, or atmospheres that carry a strong sense of threat or foreboding. It is typically used attributively (before a noun) or predicatively (after a linking verb like "was" or "seemed").
Examples
- The guard fixed the intruder with a minatory stare.
- The letter was filled with minatory language, warning of severe consequences.
- Dark, minatory clouds gathered on the horizon before the storm.
- His tone shifted from friendly to suddenly minatory.
Advanced Usage
- "To be/look/sound minatory": To have a threatening quality.
- The silence from the rival company felt deeply minatory.
- "A minatory gesture/expression/warning": A threatening action, look, or message.
- She raised a minatory finger, signaling for him to stop.
Variants and Related Words
- Minacious (adj.): A less common synonym with the same meaning as "minatory."
- Menace (n. & v.): The noun form meaning "a threat" and the verb meaning "to threaten."
- Threatening (adj.): A more common, everyday synonym.
- Ominous (adj.): Suggesting that something bad is going to happen; in many contexts, it is a close synonym for "minatory," though "ominous" can imply a more general sense of foreboding without a direct personal threat.
Synonyms
- Threatening
- Menacing
- Ominous
- Sinister
- Baleful
- Forbidding
Antonyms
- Reassuring
- Benign
- Friendly
- Auspicious
- Encouraging
Adjective
- 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