haunted
Americanadjective
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inhabited or frequented by ghosts.
a haunted castle.
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preoccupied, as with an emotion, memory, or idea; obsessed.
His haunted imagination gave him no peace.
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disturbed; distressed; worried.
Haunted by doubt he again turned to law books on the subject.
adjective
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frequented or visited by ghosts
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(postpositive) obsessed or worried
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of haunted
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at haunt, -ed 2
Explanation
Something that's haunted seems to have ghosts. Visiting a scary haunted house is a great, if terrifying, way to spend Halloween night. Ghosts, or spooky apparitions, are what makes a place haunted. You might truly believe your grandparents' house is haunted, or it might just seem that way because of the scary creaks and groans in the night, the cobwebs in dark corners, and the dim lighting. You can also describe a person as haunted when she's obsessed with or tormented by something: "I was haunted by the memory of my cat killing that poor mouse."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Police officers investigating the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh in west London say they remain "haunted" by the case, four decades after she went missing.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But for a sport haunted by its own history, the antidoping show of force was designed to breed confidence not doubt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
In his retelling of Homer’s epic poem, Nolan imagines Odysseus as a man haunted by the sacking of Troy.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
While there are aspirations to turn the river into a greenbelt, nightmarish pollution incidents have still haunted Southeast L.A. communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
While hardly an earthshaking question, it had symbolic significance because of the obsessive American suspicion of monarchy, which haunted all conversations about the powers of the presidency under the recently ratified Constitution.
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
