haunting

[hawn-ting, hahn-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR haunting ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

remaining in the consciousness; not quickly forgotten: haunting music; haunting memories.

noun

the act of a person or thing that haunts; visitation.

Origin of haunting

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at haunt, -ing², -ing¹

Related formshaunt·ing·ly, adverb

haunt

[hawnt, hahnt; for 10 also hant]

verb (used with object)

to visit habitually or appear to frequently as a spirit or ghost: to haunt a house; to haunt a person.

to recur persistently to the consciousness of; remain with: Memories of love haunted him.

to visit frequently; go to often: He haunted the galleries and bars that the artists went to.

to frequent the company of; be often with: He haunted famous men, hoping to gain celebrity for himself.

to disturb or distress; cause to have anxiety; trouble; worry: His youthful escapades came back to haunt him.

verb (used without object)

to reappear continually as a spirit or ghost.

to visit habitually or regularly.

to remain persistently; loiter; stay; linger.

noun

Often haunts. a place frequently visited: to return to one's old haunts.

Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S. and North England. a ghost.

Origin of haunt

1200–50; Middle English haunten < Old French hanter to frequent, probably < Old Norse heimta to lead home, derivative of heim homewards; see home

Related formshaunt·er, noun

Synonyms for haunt

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR haunt ON THESAURUS.COM

3. frequent. 5. obsess, beset, vex, plague.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for haunting

memorable, nostalgic, spooky, eerie, repeated, nagging, ongoing, persistent, recurrent, obsessive

Examples from the Web for haunting

Contemporary Examples of haunting

This sultry ballad about break-ups and make-ups in the City of Angels is haunting stuff.
The 14 Best Songs of 2014: Bobby Shmurda, Future Islands, Drake, and More
Marlow Stern
December 31, 2014
A study in American military control, a haunting sui generis novel, and a playful new short story collection.
This Weeks Hot Reads: November 3, 2014
Nicholas Mancusi
November 3, 2014
I ask Vlad what his worst memory was about his time in Russia, and his answers are haunting.
‘To Russia With Love’: Can Johnny Weir Save Russia’s Gays?
Kevin Fallon
October 29, 2014
There was a feeling of sweetness and a haunting beauty in both his personality and his music.
When Gary Wright Met George Harrison: Dream Weaver, John and Yoko, and More
Gary Wright
September 29, 2014
Television news can be a glorious medium, filled with striking human drama and haunting sorrow.
We Interrupt This Broadcast: How a TV Producer Learned to Write Fiction
George Lerner
September 9, 2014

Historical Examples of haunting

Or I might compare them to cherubs, haunting that holy place.
Sunday at Home (From "Twice Told Tales")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Sad gardens stretch into sad parks; sad parks into storied and haunting forests.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
Of all fears the most dogging and haunting are those connected with money.
The Conquest of Fear
Basil King
One might laugh at the old conspirator's haunting thought of the police.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
She who had been as a haunting discomfort to me, had grown to be my one consolation.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald

British Dictionary definitions for haunting

haunting

adjective

(of memories) poignant or persistent

poignantly sentimental; enchantingly or eerily evocative

Derived Formshauntingly, adverb

haunt

verb

to visit (a person or place) in the form of a ghost

(tr) to intrude upon or recur to (the memory, thoughts, etc)he was haunted by the fear of insanity

to visit (a place) frequently

to associate with (someone) frequently

noun

(often plural) a place visited frequentlyan old haunt of hers

a place to which animals habitually resort for food, drink, shelter, etc

Derived Formshaunter, noun

Word Origin for haunt

C13: from Old French hanter, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse heimta to bring home, Old English hāmettan to give a home to; see home

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for haunting

haunt

"place frequently visited," c.1300, also in Middle English, "habit, custom" (early 14c.), from haunt (v.). The meaning "spirit that haunts a place, ghost" is first recorded 1843, originally in stereotypical U.S. black speech.

haunt

early 13c., "to practice habitually, busy oneself with, take part in," from Old French hanter "to frequent, resort to, be familiar with" (12c.), probably from Old Norse heimta "bring home," from Proto-Germanic *haimat-janan, from *haimaz- (see home). Meaning "to frequent (a place)" is c.1300 in English. Use in reference to a spirit returning to the house where it had lived perhaps was in Proto-Germanic, but it was reinforced by Shakespeare's plays, and it is first recorded 1590 in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Related: Haunted; haunting. Middle English hauntingly meant "frequently;" sense of "so as to haunt one's thoughts or memory" is from 1859.