plural hauntings
: an act of haunting
especially
: visitation or inhabitation by a ghost
… its early history is replete with drama: duels, murders, shipwrecks, … even ghostly hauntings. —
Sally Gibson
Sally Gibson When asked about hauntings on Tuesday's tour, [Albert] Walavich said he knew he would get a question about ghosts on Halloween, but he doesn't believe any haunt the grounds. —Taylor Hartz
Taylor Hartz
: having qualities (such as sadness or beauty) that linger in the memory : not easily forgotten
a haunting melody
haunting images
… pale, branchless tree trunks with a haunting, Georgia O'Keeffe quality …—Susannah Master
Susannah Masterhaunting
3 of 3present participle of haunt entry 1
Synonyms
Examples of haunting in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebEllen Murphy, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
The killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos on an Orange County freeway is a haunting and cautionary tale.
—Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
The tactic obliges viewers to lean forward and intuit meaning from Smith’s haunting, hypnotic sermons on death as they’re forced to exist in close proximity to actual death and destruction.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 16 Feb. 2024
These haunting sounds prompt a reflection on our collective responsibility to the Earth, turning the art installation into a poignant environmental commentary.
—Shelby Knick, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
Some 15 years later, Merry faces her family’s haunting past when a journalist is assigned to help tell her side of the story and uncovers the very nature of evil.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Feb. 2024
For many years, the American artist has been examining the Golden Record in films, sculptures and works on paper that are hilarious, haunting and brilliantly inventive.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Alfredson conjures an icy, sinister tone in this budding friendship based on retribution, and its combination of vampiric and coming-of-age aesthetics allows for a haunting and emotional approach to a familiar scenario.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Feb. 2024
The reinvention still follows the familiar beats of Scrooge's Christmas haunting: Three ghosts, each representing Christmas past (Andy Serkis), present (Charlotte Riley), and future (Jason Flemyng) show the miserly businessman the error of his ways.
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
As this haunting production warns us, there’s nothing more terrifying than that.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
So too, however, is the pressure on the team to perform this year; not only because of their $1-billion offseason spending spree, but also the haunting memories of their recent postseason collapses.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Now searching for a new owner: Downtown Los Angeles high-rise rich in colorful anecdotes from its history, albeit most quite haunting.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
One of the most haunting parts of that book was about the failure of the European allies, particularly France and Great Britain to face Hitler when stopping him would have been relatively easy.
—TIME, 2 Feb. 2024
Taken in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb where the Russian army murdered civilians, the photo quickly became one of the most haunting and defining images of the war — capturing the horror, the senselessness, and the reality of it all in a single shot.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 22 Feb. 2024
But the film has a haunted and haunting dimension linked to the music and the mood.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
Like so much of the play, the energy of the place is haunting and familiar, even while purposefully nonspecific.
—Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
Noun
In New York, after Yankee stadium was deserted, the ghosts and legends of The House that Ruth Built had only to look out for traffic, then float across the street to get back to their haunting.
—Ellen Murphy, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024
The killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos on an Orange County freeway is a haunting and cautionary tale.
—Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024
The tactic obliges viewers to lean forward and intuit meaning from Smith’s haunting, hypnotic sermons on death as they’re forced to exist in close proximity to actual death and destruction.
—Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 16 Feb. 2024
These haunting sounds prompt a reflection on our collective responsibility to the Earth, turning the art installation into a poignant environmental commentary.
—Shelby Knick, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024
Some 15 years later, Merry faces her family’s haunting past when a journalist is assigned to help tell her side of the story and uncovers the very nature of evil.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 15 Feb. 2024
For many years, the American artist has been examining the Golden Record in films, sculptures and works on paper that are hilarious, haunting and brilliantly inventive.
—Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2024
Alfredson conjures an icy, sinister tone in this budding friendship based on retribution, and its combination of vampiric and coming-of-age aesthetics allows for a haunting and emotional approach to a familiar scenario.
—Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 14 Feb. 2024
The reinvention still follows the familiar beats of Scrooge's Christmas haunting: Three ghosts, each representing Christmas past (Andy Serkis), present (Charlotte Riley), and future (Jason Flemyng) show the miserly businessman the error of his ways.
—Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
Adjective
The movie's first poster might confirm this, showing Phoenix dipping Gaga in a haunting dance as light seems to trickle in from one of the asylum's windows.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 4 Apr. 2024
As this haunting production warns us, there’s nothing more terrifying than that.
—Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 19 Mar. 2024
So too, however, is the pressure on the team to perform this year; not only because of their $1-billion offseason spending spree, but also the haunting memories of their recent postseason collapses.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024
Now searching for a new owner: Downtown Los Angeles high-rise rich in colorful anecdotes from its history, albeit most quite haunting.
—Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2024
One of the most haunting parts of that book was about the failure of the European allies, particularly France and Great Britain to face Hitler when stopping him would have been relatively easy.
—TIME, 2 Feb. 2024
Taken in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb where the Russian army murdered civilians, the photo quickly became one of the most haunting and defining images of the war — capturing the horror, the senselessness, and the reality of it all in a single shot.
—Sophia Panych, Allure, 22 Feb. 2024
But the film has a haunted and haunting dimension linked to the music and the mood.
—Ben Croll, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024
Like so much of the play, the energy of the place is haunting and familiar, even while purposefully nonspecific.
—Vulture, 2 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'haunting.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near haunting
Cite this Entry
“Haunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haunting. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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