Scary and Threatening

Scary

Scary adjective - Causing fear.
Usage example: a scary movie that gave the child nightmares for weeks afterwards

Threatening and scary are semantically related In some cases you can use "Threatening" instead an adjective "Scary".

Nearby Words: scare, scar, scared, scaring

Threatening

Threatening adjective - Giving signs of immediate occurrence.

Scary and threatening are semantically related in menacing topic. Sometimes you can use "Scary" instead an adjective "Threatening".

Nearby Words: threaten, threatened, threat

Both words in one sentence

  • Not scary or threatening, but it sure sounds cool.
  • Geek Physiques Plus points to the writers who actually made him look threatening and scary at one point.
  • While some cancers like squamous-cell carcinoma aren't very deadly, others like pancreatic cancer and lung cancer have much higher death rates and are considered much more threatening and scary.
Cite this Source
Threatening and Scary. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/scary/threatening
Scary & Threatening. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/scary/threatening>.
Threatening or Scary. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/scary/threatening.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "scary" and "threatening" have occurred on timeline