threatening

Compared meaning: causing fear or making someone feel danger (adjective).

比较义项：使人觉得有危险或令人害怕的（形容词）。

• threatening 本词

  Threatening describes something that appears likely to cause harm or danger, often prompting caution or action; it's used for weather, tones, letters, or behavior, and sounds more formal or serious than scary.

  threatening 形容某事物看起来可能带来伤害或危险，往往会促使人采取防备或行动；常用于天气、语气、信件或行为，语气比 scary 更正式、更严肃。

  The letter's threatening language convinced her to contact the police.

  这封信里带有威胁性的措辞，使她决定报警。

• scary

  Scary describes something that makes people feel fear or fright, without necessarily posing real danger; it's common, informal, and used for stories, places, movies, or experiences.

  scary 形容让人感到害怕或惊吓的事物，未必真的具有危险性；用词更口语、更常见，常用于故事、场所、电影或经历。

  The old house on the hill has a reputation for being scary, especially on Halloween.

  山上那栋老房子以吓人著称，尤其是在万圣节的时候。

Threatening and scary both describe something that causes unease. Threatening means something looks likely to cause harm, often as a warning, used for weather, tone, or letters, and sounds formal. Scary means something causes fear, even without real danger, and is common in stories.

这两个词都可以形容让人不安的事物，但语气不同：threatening 强调看起来可能带来伤害或危险，常带有警示意味，多用于天气、语气、信件等情境；scary 强调引发恐惧的情绪反应，未必真有危险，常用于故事、场所、经历等更日常、更主观的语境。