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Scary vs Menacing - What's the difference?

scary | menacing |

As adjectives the difference between scary and menacing

is that scary is causing or able to cause fright while menacing is suggesting imminent harm.

As nouns the difference between scary and menacing

is that scary is barren land having only a thin coat of grass while menacing is the act of making menaces or threats.

As a verb menacing is

.

scary

English

Etymology 1

Adjective

(er)
  • Causing or able to cause fright
    • The tiger's jaws were scary.
    She was hiding behind her pillow during the scary parts of the film.
  • (US, colloquial, dated) Subject to sudden alarm; nervous, jumpy.
    • (Whittier)
  • * 1916 , Texas Department of Agriculture, Bulletin (issues 47-57), page 150:
    • And let us say to these interests that, until the Buy-It-Made-In-Texas movement co-operates with the farmers, we are going to be a little scary of the snare.
    Synonyms
    * (causing fright) frightening

    Etymology 2

    From dialectal English .

    Noun

  • Barren land having only a thin coat of grass.

    • Anagrams

    * *

    menacing

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Suggesting imminent harm.
  • Threatening.

    • Verb

    (head)

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • The act of making menaces or threats.
  • * (William Cobbett)
    • They remember his subornings, menacings , bribings, cuttings, maimings, hangings, and burnings.