haunted
Americanadjective
-
inhabited or frequented by ghosts.
a haunted castle.
-
preoccupied, as with an emotion, memory, or idea; obsessed.
His haunted imagination gave him no peace.
-
disturbed; distressed; worried.
Haunted by doubt he again turned to law books on the subject.
adjective
-
frequented or visited by ghosts
-
(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.
Japan is haunted by the memory of a massive 9.0-magnitude undersea quake in 2011, which triggered a tsunami that killed or left missing around 18,500 people and wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
But for a sport haunted by its own history, the antidoping show of force was designed to breed confidence not doubt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
While there are aspirations to turn the river into a greenbelt, nightmarish pollution incidents have still haunted Southeast L.A. communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Patricia, from Bebington on the Wirral, said that what haunted her was that Anthony wouldn't have fought back.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
The bottles shook and clinked together, echoing like haunted wind chimes.
From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia
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.
