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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Example Sentences
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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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On top of the three demon hunters (Rumi, Mira and Zoey), Lazzareschi also offers male performers resembling the Saja Boys (the rival group in the film) that teach kids breakdancing.—
Carlos Aguilar,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Apr. 2026
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According to ancient legend, if a queen fails this task, the demon Ovaria will dethrone her, and condemn her to life as Keeper of the Menstruary.—
Todd Spangler,
Variety,
28 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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At the title track’s video shoot, Michael gives directorial instructions in full ghoul makeup.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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Beyond that, non-phantom, non-Dracula vampires aren’t terribly over-exposed in the Broadway genre.—
Chris Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
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Mariclare Costello, a lifetime member of The Actors Studio who recurred as the schoolteacher Rosemary Hunter on The Waltons and played a hippie vampire in the cult horror film Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, died April 17 in Brooklyn, her family announced.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Money was counted daily, spoken of incessantly, felt in its paucity like a ghost in each room.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
24 Apr. 2026
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That doesn’t mean the ghosts here aren’t scary.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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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There certainly seem to be apparitions in this music, some presence apart from the four musicians and the throngs of fans, which is intensified by the visceral collision of so many sounds.—
Stephen M. Deusner,
Pitchfork,
27 Apr. 2026
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Those themes are alive here, as the ghosts who visit Depp’s Scrooge are intricate, terrifying apparitions not suitable for the whole family.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
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 1 May. 2026.
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