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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As Amadeus’ brilliance continues to flourish in spite of his personal demons, a questionable reputation and scepticism from the conservative court, Salieri becomes increasingly tormented by this apparent divine gift.—
Payton Turkeltaub,
Variety,
1 Apr. 2026
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But when demons threaten to destroy the City of Immortals, her former lord Indra begs her to return—or else lose both Kaushika and her identity as an apsara.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
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Vanessa Van Helsing wakes up from a coma to discover that a volcanic eruption has blotted out the sun, letting vampires prey 24/7.—
K. Thor Jensen,
PC Magazine,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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When Wei’s Cantonese left its Meridian ghost-kitchen building and paused business — vowing to seek another location later — fans were understandably disappointed.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Mar. 2026
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Listen to the full episode to hear about the ghost-hunting groups that rose up to fight them, and how ghost hoaxing was the precursor to that terrifying scary clown trend from 2016.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
25 Mar. 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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Acosta’s bright shapes could be seen as apparitions of a sort.—
Ray Mark Rinaldi,
Denver Post,
30 Mar. 2026
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For example, the apparition of his first wife, Grace Shelby (Annabelle Wallis), appeared a handful times in season five.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
23 Mar. 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 2 Apr. 2026.
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