McCarthyism

1 of 2

noun (1)

Mc·​Car·​thy·​ism mə-ˈkär-thē-ˌi-zəm 

also -ˈkär-tē-

: a mid-20th century political attitude marked by opposition to elements held to be subversive and by the use of unsubstantiated and widely publicized personal attacks

broadly : defamation of character or reputation through such tactics

McCarthyist

mə-ˈkär-thē-ist 

also -ˈkär-tē-

adjective

McCarthyite

mə-ˈkär-thē-ˌīt 

also -ˈkär-tē-

noun or adjective

McCarthyite

2 of 2

noun (2)

Mc·​Car·​thy·​ite mə-ˈkär-thē-ˌīt also -ˈkär-tē- 

variants or less commonly McCarthyist

mə-ˈkär-thē-ist also -ˈkär-tē- 

plural -s

: a person approving of or practicing McCarthyism

Examples of McCarthyism in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Don Siegel’s 1956 version socks it to McCarthyism and mind control in a nightmarish premise author Jack Finney cooked up in 1955 about people getting turned into cold imposters, aka pod people. — Randy Myers, Mercury News, 8 June 2026

The civil-rights struggle, the government’s treatment of Native Americans and the Chinese, McCarthyism and the blacklist, and the stupid, deadly war in Vietnam had seen to that. — Arthur Krystal, New Yorker, 25 May 2026

Opponents of McCarthyism, in Garber’s telling, did just that. — Charlie Tyson, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2026

The periods before and after the Civil War spring to mind, along with the corruption of the Gilded Age and the repression of McCarthyism. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Joseph R. McCarthy

Noun (2)

Joseph R. McCarthy + English -ite or -ist

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1950, in the meaning defined above