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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Recent Examples of banshee
Temperance let loose a banshee wail.
—
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
Our ears are still ringing from watching fans become shrieking banshees upon realizing that one of her professional dancers was actually the NFL star.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for banshee
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
Our ears are still ringing from watching fans become shrieking banshees upon realizing that one of her professional dancers was actually the NFL star.
—Lauren Huff, EW.com, 7 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for banshee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banshee
Noun
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Nas sounds hungry again, his dense, circular writing a tangle of flashbacks and evocative images of preachers rebuking demons and Yoda smoking blunts.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
8 Jan. 2026
-
With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
7 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Gives himself entirely to the race, shoots like a phantom up through the opening and then stands panting in the garret, completely motionless, while his eyes become accustomed to the change of light.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
-
There has been a phantom haunting this Matlock season.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Kids can trick-or-treat at Calico Ghost Town shops and businesses before the sun falls and ghouls fill the park.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
29 Dec. 2025
-
No disrespect to Purnell, who perfectly calibrated Lucy’s intrinsic hopefulness in the first season and slowly begins to curdle it this go-round as Lucy spends more time among ghouls, raiders, cannibals, and various other feuding factions.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
Slavic folklore about vampires suggests one partial answer to the especial fear of the vulnerable.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Mosaku captivated audiences as Annie, a powerful healer and spiritual guide who helps fight off bloodthirsty vampires in Sinners.—
Yamillah Hurtado,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
For the better part of eight years after Super Bowl 50, the Broncos were an organization with delusions of adequacy, fielding mediocre teams with major problems with ownership drama, mismanaged rosters, ghost drafts and an endless carousel of underwhelming quarterbacks.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Tony Sparano, whom Ross inherited, Joe Philbin, Adam Gase, Brian Flores and Mike McDaniel are the ghosts who haunt this franchise.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
On his journey, Geralt slices up several soldiers, a giant, ogre-like creature and a ghostly wraith.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
7 Oct. 2025
-
In the footage, Geralt approaches the domain of a wraith and battles the skeletal specter, culminating in a heart-ripping moment.—
Nick Romano,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Sam slips back into her addiction and as her alcoholism worsens, so do the visions and apparitions that seem to be haunting the forest.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
6 Jan. 2026
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One of the most stunning exhibitions of the year put the spotlight on Our Lady of Guadalupe, which has a long history dating back to 1531, tied to four apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a peasant in Mexico.—
Michael James Rocha,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Is there a more ostentatious fat hag in America than Meghan McCain?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
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People online can call you an old hag or too young, but one thing is for sure.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
3 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshee. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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