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
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
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
See All Example Sentences for banshee
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
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
See All Example Sentences for banshee
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banshee
Noun
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Barred from his high school basketball team due to his temper, a hot-head, street-baller battles demons from his past and present to earn a spot on a summer league team and his last shot at a college basketball scholarship.—
Angelique Jackson,
Variety,
8 Apr. 2026
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Rodriguez-Singh called Noel evil and a demon, police have said.—
Emerson Clarridge,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.—
Adam Ciralsky,
Vanity Fair,
19 Mar. 2026
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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
Noun
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Created by a number of its stars, Ghosts originated on the BBC in 2019, following a group of ghouls from different historical periods haunting a country house while sharing the house with its new living occupants.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
25 Mar. 2026
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Ledger ingeniously plays the Joker as a chaotic force of nature, a scarred and unknowable ghoul clad in clown paint and a garish suit from Demon's Wearhouse.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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While Hollywood vampires—especially those in the Twilight series—have a devoted fan base, real-life bloodsuckers aren’t so adored.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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Not the red shirts, whose career life expectancy can be counted on a salt vampire's fingers, but the staff that turns up after the Enterprise has saved the day?—
Chris McMullen,
Space.com,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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With ghost runner Jake Cronenworth perched on third with one out, Colorado intentionally walked Jackson Merrill and Manny Machado to load the bases, hoping to get a double play and send the game into the 13th inning.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
10 Apr. 2026
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Always fact check those ghosts.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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But he’s journeyed to Lourdes and Our Lady of Guadalupe, both of which the Vatican has officially recognized as supernatural Marian apparitions.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
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When 59% of California voters have a concern about the cost of providing public benefits to an unlimited number of people residing in the country unlawfully, that’s an apparition that will roam the earth.—
Susan Shelley,
Oc Register,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Ah, the famous and epic love between an up-and-coming designer and his hag.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
19 Feb. 2026
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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
Cite this Entry
“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshee. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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