banshee
noun
ban-ˈshē
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In Irish folklore, a bean sídhe (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, as in "a banshee wail."
Examples of banshee in a Sentence
Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025
There aren’t songs with Chino screaming like a banshee, nor are there any overindulging atmospheric tracks.
—Quentin Thane Singer, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
But just before all the banshee wailing threatens to overwhelm proceedings, along comes a hypnotic tribal beat which briefly turns the wake into a party.
—Jon O'Brien, Vulture, 13 May 2025
He’s been a banshee for us since he’s been with us on the two-way and has provided not just the attitude, the toughness on the court, but he’s played some really good basketball for us.
—Khobi Price, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for banshee
Cite this Entry
“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/banshee. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
banshee
noun
ban-ˈshē
from Irish bean sídhe & Scottish Gaelic bean sìth, literally, "woman of fairyland"
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