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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Coach Brad Willis’ team responded to the setback by shaking off the loss plus the demons of a first-round exit in Division 1 last season.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Mikaela Shiffrin can now leave her Olympics demons behind.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The Stygiomedusa gigantea, commonly known as the giant phantom jelly, was filmed at 250 meters below the surface.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Old Town The belltower looms like a phantom.—
Chen Yuhong,
The Dial,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Here was music that pushed the genre back to the realm of ghosts and ghouls, the ideal soundtrack for doing battle with Dracula on the spiral staircase of his manor.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
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Even a half-century later, the undead ghouls that descend upon survivors in a Pennsylvania farm house are timeless and the gut-punch ending couldn't be more timely.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Nail artist Sojin Oh’s XXL press-on nails gripped Kim Shui’s collection like those of a fashion vampire headed straight to the front row of Taymour’s Collina Strada runway.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
17 Feb. 2026
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Written by Port and Wiseman, Eternally Yours is an eternal love story about two vampires, Liz (Edwards) and Charles (Weeks), who have been married for five hundred years, and their struggles to accept the human, Max (Lewison), who is dating their daughter, Emma (Shen).—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Elytra Dark will serve as a transfer vehicle to bring the Blue ghost lander to the moon.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 Feb. 2026
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It was originally supposed to be a story with more ghosts and such, but the real-world system the film presents was horror enough.—
Blake Simons,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The earliest depictions of slavery were already crawling with the terrible proceedings the Gothic tends to depict, from bloody whippings to family curses to the wrathful wraiths of the slain enslaved.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Feb. 2026
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In the glass, Eda’s reflection hovered like a pale-haired wraith.—
Carly Tagen-Dye,
PEOPLE,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Though the governor left little behind to solve the ultimate mystery — where the staircase led —a rare apparition surfaced from Roman Germany, preserved for 2,000 years due to the Romans’ advanced building techniques.—
Maria Mocerino,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
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And just as the questions are sinking into our souls, some mist starts to rise up from the floorboards of Tower 12 and turn itself into something like a human form, a specter, an apparition, a boy made real.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The regulars fired at them with a booming 12-pounder that made the American boys lift their knees like old hags, trip and founder as tentacles of water dragged them under.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 Jan. 2026
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Is there a more ostentatious fat hag in America than Meghan McCain?—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshee. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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