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.
From the moment Ryua first walked into her rental apartment in Tokyo she believed it to be haunted.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
"He's haunted by the past," added Mirren, an evolution of character which adds "great color" to the story.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026
The holding area begins crawling with costumed characters as clowns, bloody chefs and haunted little girls await their turn in the makeup chair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026
But he and his marketing team also invented the large-scale, commercial haunted house.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026
“Used to be a rich family’s country home, absurdly large and showy. Kind of like a very polite haunted house. Stop asking questions.”
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
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