informal: to cut off all contact with (someone) abruptly and usually without explanation : to subject (someone, such as a former romantic partner) to ghosting see ghostingsense 2
No one wants to be ghosted, mostly because it sucks to admit that the person you gushed about last week is now pretending you don't exist … Ellen Scott
Noun a house haunted by ghosts looked for ghosts in the graveyard on Halloween Verb She ghosted the mayor's autobiography.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Like a ghost, the song nudges my brain, pleasantly beseeching me and the oblivious eaters staring into the abyss of their poke bowls. Ed Schrader, SPIN, 6 Sep. 2022 About 20,000 ghost guns were reported to the ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations in 2021. Zusha Elinson, WSJ, 6 Sep. 2022 Throw on a witches hat, put on some scary makeup, pose with a jack-o-lantern or throw a sheet over your head to look like a ghost. Maggie Horton, Country Living, 20 July 2022 Sometimes, my dad slunk around the house like a ghost, saying only hello and good night. Helen Longstreth, The New Yorker, 17 July 2022 This leaves you with the important task of finding a handful of sunscreens that aren't greasy or sticky, work with your skin type, and don't leave you looking like a ghost. Sarah Madaus, SELF, 6 May 2022 Often, Colman’s distinctive expressions emerge as uncanny flashes and flinches in Buckley’s visage, like a ghost of motherhood future. Guy Lodge, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2021 As attorney general since 2017, Shapiro has toured the state discussing the need to crack down on gun trafficking and ghost guns, and to recruit more police officers. Marc Levy, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Aug. 2022 The governor has already signed several into law, including one that increases legal liability through private right of action against the industry, another that limits firearm advertising to minors and a third that further restricts ghost guns. Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 26 Aug. 2022
Verb
Applicants have more bargaining power than ever before and are turning the tables on hiring teams by being the first to ghost a company if the recruitment experience doesn’t deliver. Patrick Donegan, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 If not, don't be shocked if fans decide to ghost this franchise. Brendan Morrow, The Week, 9 Aug. 2022 The path of least resistance is to ghost the applicant and not say or write anything at all. Jack Kelly, Forbes, 28 June 2022 But mostly, contractors who ghost are just up to their eyeballs in a remodeling moment that is virtually unprecedented. Ingrid Abramovitch, ELLE Decor, 4 Aug. 2022 In season 3, Min finally gets to play a living character who interacts with the people around him — as opposed to ghost Ben, who could really only talk to his medium brother Klaus (Robert Sheehan). Christian Holub, EW.com, 13 May 2022 Hopefully, the aliens don't ghost us this time around. Ariana Garcia, Chron, 6 May 2022 These friends, finally, were wrong to ghost you instead of having the courage to approach your wife, kindly and discreetly.Washington Post, 28 Jan. 2022 Your initial instinct for ending a casual relationship might be to ghost them.Washington Post, 12 Feb. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Noun and Verb
Middle English gost, gast, from Old English gāst; akin to Old High German geist spirit, Sanskrit heḍa anger
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1