Daunting, or threatening
Examples:
A traffic warden, a lady of a minatory aspect, stood by the car. She pointed to a notice on the wall. “Can’t you read?” she said.
— William Golding, nobel lecture
In the recurring dream
my mother stands
in her bridal gown
under the burning lilac,
with Bernard Shaw and Bertie
Russell kissing her hands;
the house behind her is in ruins;
she is wearing an owl's face
and makes barking noises.
Her minatory finger points.
— Stanley Kunitz, The Testing Tree
The Spanish action was Minatory. It was a matter for our discretion to determine whether it was also hostile.
— Theodore Roosevelt, Letter to Munroe Smith
Etymology:
This word has the same origin as “menace”; the Latin word minari
High-Vocabulary Word of the Day 