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

2 of 3

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 of haunting

Adjective

• eerie
• creepy

Examples of haunting in a Sentence

Adjective

the haunting tones of the Highland bagpipes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

These are the haunting, unanswered questions that Caroline Darian has turned over in her mind for six years. —Time, Time, 7 Apr. 2026

And haunting is about distance, the presence of an absence. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2026

Adjective

An echo of these matches lies in Human Mask (2014), a haunting video work by Pierre Huyghe, set in Fukushima after the destruction wrought by the tsunami and then the breakdown of the nuclear reactor. —Shanti Escalante-De Mattei, ARTnews.com, 6 Apr. 2026

The final scene is haunting, even to me, someone who has known Hood for years now. —Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 3 Apr. 2026

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