banshee

noun

Definition of bansheenext
as in demon
a female spirit in Irish and Scottish stories who cries loudly to warn people that someone is going to die soon claimed to have heard the terrifying wail of a banshee

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of banshee The bond between a rider and their banshee doesn't break, and chances are your bond with this two-figure set won't either. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025 Then, like an alarm clock, howler monkeys unleashed their banshee shriek, staking their territory as the sun rose. — Ryan Knighton, AFAR Media, 31 Oct. 2025 His bronc riders look more like pietàs in mud; his barrel racers scream like banshees on horseback. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025 Temperance let loose a banshee wail. — Charna Flam, People.com, 25 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for banshee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banshee
  1. demon
  2. phantom
  3. ghoul
  4. vampire
  5. ghost
  6. wraith
  7. apparition
  8. hag
Noun
  • Rest assured, the only demons in Phony appear to be figurative.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • One American season later, the race demons raged and all of those commitments are dropped.
    — Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of demon
Noun
  • As the frightening phantom of Frank the Bunny warns, this parallel reality has a ticking clock that’ll result in its imminent collapse in just 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.
    — Jeff Spry, Space.com, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Fadal brought up her own phantom smells during a recent podcast conversation with Andrea Donsky, a nutritionist who’s written about and conducted research on this symptom.
    — Maggie Ryan, Flow Space, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of phantom
Noun
  • This year a ghoul towers over the entrance, welcoming visitors — or perhaps warning them to stay away.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • At its strongest, Crossing the Red Line paints an important portrait of the ghouls who prosecuted the genocide in Gaza, offering an historically crucial record of their conduct and their failures.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of ghoul
Noun
  • Many Orlando-area homes feature skeletons that tower over the neighborhood, witchy covens, horror movie icons, clowns, pirate ships, pumpkins, zombies and vampires.
    — Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
  • It is nearly considered folkloric, with contemporary vampires still mirroring the characteristics of Polidori’s Ruthven.
    — Maria Papadouris, JSTOR Daily, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of vampire
Noun
  • Spirit Airlines' ghost planes The problems with young retirements predate Spirit's collapse.
    — Leslie Josephs, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026
  • In 2026, the gemlike Brooklyn venue lent Kushner’s project a magical quality, turning the audience into ghosts from the future, eavesdropping on the fall of the Weimar Republic but unable to intervene.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of ghost
Noun
  • There’s not a single shot of a healthy human being in the movie, only wraiths filmed in sickly shades of pink, red and blue.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Pilots can see bad weather lurking in the distance hours before takeoff, glowing like a wraith on their digital maps.
    — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
Definition of wraith
Noun
  • The location was a former sugarcane plantation notorious for cruelty, and accounts of apparitions in the water are a reminder of this history.
    — Marcus Librizzi, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026
  • After the vocal chorus, Astaire sees an apparition—Pan, costumed in Halloween drag.
    — David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of apparition
Noun
  • The boo hag Take, for instance, the boo hag, a being in Gullah Geechee folklore.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The sea hag in Widow’s Bay, by contrast, is a monstrous cross between Samara from The Ring, the entity from It Follows, and the lady in the bathtub from The Shining.
    — Sean T. Collins, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of hag

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Cite this Entry

“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshee. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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