BANSHEE Synonyms: 63 Similar and Opposite Words

banshee

noun

Definition of banshee

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

Related Words

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Dissimilar Words

angel

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

Noun

No ghosts, ghouls, or demons here, just the evil things that greed makes people do, at least until the little guy starts fighting back.

— Eve Batey, Vanity Fair, 16 Oct. 2026
Written and directed by Jeremy Slater, the film follows Jefferson Haddock (Bacon), who is called into an isolated witness protection property to deal with a terrifying demon, unleashing a force that threatens to end him and everything around him.

— Matt Grobar, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of demon

Noun

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
Both phantoms were packed with thousands of dosimeters, tracking radiation dose over specific phases of the flight rather than just a cumulative total.

— Jacek Krywko, ArsTechnica, 13 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

From glittering ghosts, ghastly goblins and wicked witches to wily warlocks, fashion can inspire any Halloween transformation.

— Tonya Blazio-Licorish, Footwear News, 18 Oct. 2026
There were earlier versions of this story that were openly mocking of Kip, versions that threw Leo under the bus for being too sly; versions that were too overtly political; versions with ghosts that didn’t need to be there, and so on.

— Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 18 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 spacecraft encounters transformed a disappointing naked-eye apparition into a landmark scientific campaign.

— Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 Oct. 2026
One is Eye Witness (1987), a wintry landscape of two figures who seem to look away from an apparition of sorts; a skyscraper in the distance bears a resemblance to the Empire State Building.

— Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 12 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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“Banshee.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshee. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of banshee

noun

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