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 of haunting
Examples of haunting in a Sentence
Adjective
the haunting tones of the Highland bagpipes
Recent Examples on the Web
Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Excavations have revealed the buildings and artifacts hidden beneath the ash, colorful remains of decorative frescoes, and haunting remains of the city’s residents.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025
Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2025
The nation is sending ships and robots into one of the planet’s loneliest stretches of ocean in the hope of solving one of aviation’s most haunting mysteries.
—Eric Sullivan, Scientific American, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for haunting
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Noun
Braithwaite has a way of making the Falodun family’s superstition seem both wickedly funny and haunting.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
Excavations have revealed the buildings and artifacts hidden beneath the ash, colorful remains of decorative frescoes, and haunting remains of the city’s residents.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 7 Dec. 2025
Adjective
Regardless of film gauge, the haunting, funny, rousing, poignant, terrifying vampire film is simply one of the most beautiful movies ever made, a movie where the photography expresses theme and character with elegance, complexity, and an awe-inspiring tonal range.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 7 Dec. 2025
The nation is sending ships and robots into one of the planet’s loneliest stretches of ocean in the hope of solving one of aviation’s most haunting mysteries.
—Eric Sullivan, Scientific American, 3 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for haunting
Cite this Entry
“Haunting.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haunting. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
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