haunting

[hawn-ting, hahn-]

adjective

1. remaining in the consciousness; not quickly forgotten.

   haunting music; haunting memories.

noun

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

haunting

/ ˈhɔːntɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of memories) poignant or persistent

2. poignantly sentimental; enchantingly or eerily evocative

Other Word Forms

• hauntingly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of haunting¹

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; haunt, -ing ², -ing ¹

Example Sentences

In one haunting experience, an injured boy lying on the ground reached for Perlmutter’s leg, too weak to talk.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some dolphins and whales are discovered already dead, leaving behind a haunting mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades: what drives these intelligent creatures to beach themselves in the first place?

Read more on Science Daily

International agencies were preparing Saturday to pour aid into Gaza, hopeful a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will allow them to put an end to the famine haunting parts of the territory.

Read more on Barron's

One big question is haunting the bull market of 2025: Are we in an artificial-intelligence bubble that resembles the dot-com investment boom of the 1990s?

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When a young woman who calls herself Beloved arrives, the haunting becomes eerily tangible.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• eerie 
• memorable 
• nostalgic 
• spooky