haunting

1 of 3

noun

haunt·​ing ˈhȯn-tiŋ 

ˈhän-

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

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

haunting

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adjective

: 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

haunting

3 of 3

present participle of haunt entry 1

Synonyms

Adjective

• eerie
• eery
• creepy

Examples of haunting in a Sentence

Adjective

the haunting tones of the Highland bagpipes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In the film, the couple examines the haunting of a remote farmhouse, where a couple (Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston) live with their five children and are subject to horrifying occurrences — with one of them eventually becoming demonically possessed. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025

His voice is perfect and haunting. —Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025

Adjective

Her voice, later verified by outlets including The Washington Post and Sky News, became one of the most haunting symbols of the war. —Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025

And in 2022, Semafor worked with an artist to illustrate and animate an interview using AI tools to create a haunting video interpretation of life in Ukraine under Russian occupation. —Gina Chua, semafor.com, 1 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, "frequenting a place, dwelling place," from haunten "to frequent, haunt entry 1" + -ing -ing entry 1

Adjective

from present participle of haunt entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1823, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for haunting

• daunting
• flaunting
• shantung
• taunting
• vaunting
• wanting