banshees

noun

plural of banshee
as in ghouls
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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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 banshees His bronc riders look more like pietàs in mud; his barrel racers scream like banshees on horseback. — Casey Cep, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for banshees
  1. ghouls
  2. demons
  3. phantoms
  4. vampires
  5. ghosts
  6. wraiths
  7. apparitions
  8. spirits
Noun
  • Night of the Living Dead centers all the action at a farmhouse, where seven people attempt to ward off the ghouls — without any prior knowledge of how to do so.
    — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
  • 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
Definition of ghouls
Noun
  • She is plagued by psychological demons that destroy most of the relationships around her.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026
  • But Jesus eventually heals the man and casts the demons into a herd of pigs, which tumble over a cliff and drown.
    — John Blake, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
Definition of demons
Noun
  • 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
  • The two phantoms were designed to be adult females, since previous research found that breasts and ovaries are especially susceptible to radiation damage.
    — Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of phantoms
Noun
  • Bedbugs are sometimes called the vampires of the insect world — hiding during the day and coming out at night to feast on human blood.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The show followed Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, as a high school student who also saves the world from vampires and demons.
    — Rachel Burchfield, InStyle, 31 July 2026
Definition of vampires
Noun
  • Think smiling jack-o'-lanterns, black cats, friendly ghosts, retro blow molds and decorations inspired by Halloweens of decades past.
    — Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026
  • This pastel purple throw blanket features a cute pattern of playful ghosts.
    — Michele Laufik, Martha Stewart, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of ghosts
Noun
  • The score by Joseph Bishara is shivery with chorales that moan like wraiths in the wind.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026
  • 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
Definition of wraiths
Noun
  • That is, until miraculous apparitions turn it into a place to be.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 17 July 2026
  • Today, the massive complex attracts paranormal investigators who report apparitions, voices, and other unexplained phenomena.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026
Definition of apparitions
Noun
  • Today, the brown spirits landscape in this country has changed dramatically, and there is no longer a single state that does not have at least one whiskey producer.
    — Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • But the growth of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits has made zebra striping far more sustainable.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of spirits

Browse Nearby Words

banshee
banshees
bantam
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Cite this Entry

“Banshees.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/banshees. Accessed 19 Aug. 2026.

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