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.
His 2021 restaurant memory drama “Pig” gave Nicolas Cage his subtlest dialogue in years, while “A Quiet Place: Day One” had no business being as believably haunted as it was.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Fleming, according to the Associated Press, told Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett in court on Wednesday: "It's truly a nightmare I can't wake up from. I'm haunted by the mistakes I made."
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Cenet remains haunted by that stop, fearing a "worst-case scenario", he said.
From Barron's • May 6, 2026
If you were told the building was haunted, you might attribute that agitation to something supernatural.
From Science Daily • May 3, 2026
Although the final draft of the document was conspicuously silent on slavery, the subject itself haunted the closed-door debates.
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.
