haunting
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
(of memories) poignant or persistent
-
poignantly sentimental; enchantingly or eerily evocative
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of haunting
Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at haunt, -ing 2, -ing 1
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.
This haunting series, which has over 200 million views, was a part of a larger online movement on platforms like Reddit and TikTok that became fixated on mysterious spaces.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
The Gwangju uprising forms the haunting backdrop to Nobel laureate Han Kang's novel Human Acts.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
Rather, it is a riveting, haunting, incisive and melancholy document that provides the ultimate example of a writer bearing witness and holding evil to account.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
But the phantoms of the past remain, haunting our dreams and taunting us with the comfort of imagined reconciliation, until we wake up and it slips away.
From Salon • Apr. 24, 2026
I recalled Mr. Pinkerton’s request that I play the role of a ghost on this adventure, and I half wondered if that’s what we were doing now, haunting the garden like we were.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
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.
