witch hunt

noun

|Updated on: 3 Jun 2018

Examples: witch hunt in a Sentence

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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witch-hunter

noun

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witch-hunting

noun or adjective

See witch hunt defined for English-language learners

Examples of witch hunt in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of witch hunt from the Web

In a forewarning of future purges, the NRC, too, became subject to political witch hunts.

— peter schwartzstein, Smithsonian, "How Saddam and ISIS Killed Iraqi Science," 30 May 2018
This is not a witch hunt, and the committee had no political agenda.

— kaitlyn schallhorn, Fox News, "Missouri Gov. Greitens accused of violence, sexual assault, blackmail: What to know," 29 May 2018
Elsewhere on Twitter, Donald Trump was bellowing about a witch hunt.

— jason pontin, WIRED, "Donald Trump and the Golden Age of Subtweeting," 4 May 2018
Bliss presented it as mass hysteria, McCarthyism, a witch hunt.

— sophie gilbert, The Atlantic, "The Cost of Accusing Bill Cosby," 27 Apr. 2018
Trump claims that the entire investigation is a witch hunt, but the president is also a senile old fool who believes that arming some teachers is the best way to handle mass shootings.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "Rick Gates Becomes 3rd Member of Trump’s Campaign to Plead Guilty to Lying," 23 Feb. 2018
In closing arguments, defense attorney Kathleen Bliss likened the trial and the #MeToo movement to a series of lynchings, witch hunts, and McCarthyism.

— Philly.com, "How Cosby verdict could signal #MeToo impact on criminal justice system," 28 Apr. 2018
During closing arguments, Cosby's lawyers slammed #MeToo, calling Cosby its victim and likening it to a witch hunt or a lynching.

— michael r. sisak and claudia lauer, Houston Chronicle, "'The real Bill Cosby': Comedian convicted of sexual assault," 27 Apr. 2018
Cosby's lawyers slammed #MeToo, calling Cosby its victim and likening it to a witch hunt or a lynching.

— michael r. sisak and claudia lauer, The Christian Science Monitor, "Jury finds Bill Cosby guilty in sexual assault retrial," 26 Apr. 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.

First Known Use of witch hunt

1885

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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WITCH HUNT Defined for English Language Learners

witch hunt

noun

Definition of witch hunt for English Language Learners

: the act of unfairly looking for and punishing people who are accused of having opinions that are believed to be dangerous or evil

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See words that rhyme with witch hunt Nglish: Translation of witch hunt for Spanish speakers

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witch hunt

Definition of witch hunt

witch-hunter

witch-hunting

Examples of witch hunt in a Sentence

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First Known Use of witch hunt

WITCH HUNT Defined for English Language Learners

witch hunt

Definition of witch hunt for English Language Learners

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witch hunt

Definition of witch hunt

witch-hunter

witch-hunting

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WITCH HUNT Defined for English Language Learners

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