witch hunt

noun

Definition of witch hunt

1 : a searching out for persecution of persons accused of witchcraft

2 : the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (such as political opponents) with unpopular views

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Examples of witch hunt in a Sentence

He was the victim of a congressional witch hunt against Communists.

Recent Examples on the Web

Justice will be done but there will be no witch hunt, the minister said. — Abdoulie John, The Seattle Times, "‘Dark days’ over: Gambia launches truth, reconciliation body," 15 Oct. 2018 As the witching hour approaches, guests will take a nighttime tour of the palace and learn about 16th century witch hunts and the fear that gripped Tudor England and the prospect of the dark mystical powers working among them. — Lauren Hubbard, Town & Country, "You Can Now Spend the Night in Hampton Court, One of Henry VIII's Favorite Palaces," 14 Sep. 2018 In Tanzania, nearly 400 people were killed in witch hunts in the first half of 2016, according to police. — Seema Yasmin, SELF, "In Rural India, Protecting Women From Witch Hunting, and an Impending Flood," 17 Aug. 2018 The prime minister, who also faces several police investigations into alleged corruption, has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the accusations against him and his wife as a media witch hunt. — Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY, "Israeli PM's wife accused of fraud, misuse of public funds in 'Prepared Food Affair'," 21 June 2018 Throughout his campaign, Mr. Grimm urged voters to view his criminal prosecution as a political witch hunt by President Barack Obama’s Justice Department. — Lisa W. Foderaro, New York Times, "Beers, Burgers and Red-Meat Politics in N.Y.’s ‘Trump Country’," 15 June 2018 For the past year, Trump had railed against the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller as a witch hunt into nonexistent election collusion with Russia. — Brian Bennett, Time, "Michael Cohen’s ‘Essential Consultants’ Business Is a Big Problem for Donald Trump," 10 May 2018 The current probe -- into Russian meddling as well as the possibility of obstruction and collusion -- is pointless, is a witch hunt, is already proven to be a hoax. — Chris Cillizza, CNN, "What the heck is Rudy Giuliani talking about?," 15 June 2018 Instead, his immediate instinct — one that reflects his long-time immersion in, and relationship to, right-wing media — was to play the victim of a liberal witch hunt. — David Roberts, Vox, "Tribalism fueled Scott Pruitt’s rise to power — and the scandals that came with it," 5 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'witch hunt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.