banshee

noun ban·shee \ ˈban-(ˌ)shē , ban-ˈ \

Examples: banshee in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of banshee

: a female spirit in Gaelic folklore whose appearance or wailing warns a family that one of them will soon die

We heard someone screaming like a banshee.

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Examples of banshee in a Sentence

I heard someone wailing like a banshee.

Recent Examples of banshee from the Web

As a digital clock hit that mark, civil defense alarms screamed like banshees letting the estimated 45,000 in attendance know that the walk was officially underway.

— marty pearl, The Courier-Journal, "Louisville zombie fest runs amok on Bardstown," 27 Aug. 2017
The tunes helpfully explain not only the meaning of the show’s title but also elements of Irish folklore like leprechauns, banshees and rainbows.

— laurel graeber, New York Times, "7 Things to Do With Your Kids in NYC This Weekend," 15 Mar. 2018
During his heyday, Halford's banshee-scream abilities set him apart from other vocalists in aggressive, metallic rock.

— bob kostanczuk, Post-Tribune, "Judas Priest still brandishes 'Firepower' in heavy metal," 29 Mar. 2018
The sounds are primal and ethereal; rooted in nature yet otherworldly, as if banshees are conniving with angels.

— jeffrey fleishman, latimes.com, "Voices of the City: Experimental vocalist Carmina Escobar uses her voice to explore herself and others," 29 Mar. 2018
The hosts of the ABC cooking and lifestyle show were toting banshees on their shoulders.

— lauren delgado, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Banshees, chicken and dancing as 'Chew' hosts put on a show at Epcot Food & Wine Festival," 5 Oct. 2017
People have claimed to hear wails of banshees and see ghostly hell hounds and apparitions of Confederate soldiers.

— AL.com, "The best-known ghost tale from each Alabama county," 25 Oct. 2017
Inside me everything is lightening bolts and banshee wails and chaos.

— joanna petrone, Longreads, "Pregnant, then Ruptured," 18 Aug. 2017
Confused, pissed-off and hungry to scream the truth, Gaga becomes a banshee on Joanne’s lead single, and the raw performance makes for a captivating listen.

— jason lipshutz, Billboard, "Lady Gaga's 15 Best Songs: Critic's Picks," 26 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'banshee.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In Irish folklore, a "bean sidhe" (literally "woman of fairyland") was not a welcome guest. When she was seen combing her hair or heard wailing beneath a window, it was considered a sign that a family member was about to die. English speakers modified the mournful fairy's Irish name into the modern word banshee - a term we now most often use to evoke her woeful or terrible or earsplitting cry, as in "to scream like a banshee," or attributively, "a banshee wail."