Meaning & use

haunting

adjective·Academic

So beautiful, sad, or strange that it stays in one's memory, often with an unsettling quality.

See it in a sentence

The singer's haunting melody lingered in listeners' minds long after the concert ended.

Photographs of the abandoned hospital had a haunting quality that unsettled every viewer.

A note on using this word

Haunting describes a memorable, slightly melancholy artistic effect, distinct from 'haunted,' which describes a place visited by ghosts.

Words with a similar meaning

evocativeunforgettableeerie

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

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