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
  • Wynonna, with help from her younger sister, the town’s sheriff and an infamous Wild West gunslinger, must save her hometown from demons and other supernatural creatures.
    — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
  • In the film, Tanjiro, Nezuko and the Hashira are drawn into the Infinity Castle, where the Demon Slayer Corps must confront the terrifying Upper Rank demons.
    — Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of demons
Noun
  • Such a designation, evidently, would save agents from wasting time chasing phantoms.
    — Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
  • Just in time for Halloween, the sonic phantoms that have long plagued the ladies of The View have seemingly possessed inanimate objects over on the Live With Kelly and Mark set.
    — Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Oct. 2025
Definition of phantoms
Noun
  • His strong corner is fighting werewolves, vampires and Paul Bunyon.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 6 July 2026
  • In their respective grief, mommy issues, daughter issues, and, in the case of Armand and Daniel, daddy issues, our vampires are giving each other a run for their money over who is the most beautiful, most unwell.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of vampires
Noun
  • It could be argued baseball isn't America's pastime any longer, yet there's something poetic and haunting in this beautiful film that explores the sport as well as ghosts of our past.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • The savory along the river is teeming with bees, and small white moths light among the ghosts of withered bergamot.
    — Meghan O’Gieblyn, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 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
  • Today, the massive complex attracts paranormal investigators who report apparitions, voices, and other unexplained phenomena.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 15 June 2026
  • Why then, when discussing body image after weight changes, is our culture reaching for the language of vexing apparitions and death?
    — Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
Definition of apparitions
Noun
  • Koval Distillery, Chicago’s first legal post-Prohibition distillery, produces spirits as artful as its bottle designs and Vin312 Winery has grown from its owner’s garage into a full-fledged tasting room.
    — Midwest Living, Midwest Living, 1 July 2026
  • The release continues Tamworth’s tradition of creating spirits inspired by the natural world around its rural New Hampshire home.
    — Emily Price, Forbes.com, 1 July 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 8 Jul. 2026.

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