witch hunt
noun
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
Examples of witch hunt in a Sentence
He was the victim of a congressional witch hunt against Communists.
Recent Examples on the Web
Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
—
Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023
And these people who were falsely accused and got caught up in a true witch hunt should be remembered, and in part because it's commercialized, it's remembered.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2023
Jordan repeatedly attacked the committee's integrity, calling it a partisan witch hunt, and refused to comply with a subpoena -- an action that resulted in lawmakers referring him and a handful of other Republican members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2023
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and denounced the charges as a political witch hunt.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2023
But the defense team slammed the proceeding as a political witch hunt orchestrated by Paxton's rivals.
—Eva Ruth Moravec, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
But the defense team slammed the proceeding as a political witch hunt orchestrated by Paxton’s rivals.
—Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023
What is now evident is that it was always conceived as a witch hunt, one that is blatantly reviving anti-Communist rhetoric—a Marxist, in the library!—redolent of the anti-gay panic that was entwined within the twentieth century’s infamous Red Scare in the United States.
—Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
The movie presents the witch hunt and dismissal of the project’s scientific director, J. Robert Oppenheimer, in the vicious government war on science and culture during the Red Scare moral panic of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
—Arthur Caplan, Scientific American, 6 Aug. 2023
See More
Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023
And these people who were falsely accused and got caught up in a true witch hunt should be remembered, and in part because it's commercialized, it's remembered.
—Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Oct. 2023
Jordan repeatedly attacked the committee's integrity, calling it a partisan witch hunt, and refused to comply with a subpoena -- an action that resulted in lawmakers referring him and a handful of other Republican members of Congress to the House Ethics Committee.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 16 Oct. 2023
The former president has denied all wrongdoing and denounced the charges as a political witch hunt.
—Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2023
But the defense team slammed the proceeding as a political witch hunt orchestrated by Paxton's rivals.
—Eva Ruth Moravec, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Sep. 2023
But the defense team slammed the proceeding as a political witch hunt orchestrated by Paxton’s rivals.
—Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2023
What is now evident is that it was always conceived as a witch hunt, one that is blatantly reviving anti-Communist rhetoric—a Marxist, in the library!—redolent of the anti-gay panic that was entwined within the twentieth century’s infamous Red Scare in the United States.
—Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 15 Sep. 2023
The movie presents the witch hunt and dismissal of the project’s scientific director, J. Robert Oppenheimer, in the vicious government war on science and culture during the Red Scare moral panic of the late 1940s and early 1950s.
—Arthur Caplan, Scientific American, 6 Aug. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'witch hunt.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1853, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near witch hunt
Cite this Entry
“Witch hunt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch%20hunt. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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Kids Definition
witch-hunt
noun-ˌhənt
1
: a searching out and persecution of persons accused of witchcraft
2
: the searching out and deliberate harassment of those (as political opponents) with unpopular views
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