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Red Scare

Cultural  

  1. The rounding up and deportation of several hundred immigrants of radical political views by the federal government in 1919 and 1920. This “scare” was caused by fears of subversion by communists in the United States after the Russian Revolution.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Red Scare followed—the government arrested and deported radicals, breaking unions like the IWW and hobbling labor for a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

But the nation also came to its senses, and by the mid-1950s the Red Scare had effectively ended.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2025

After noting that her film career started at the end of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, Fonda emphasized the need for the Hollywood community to fight for what they believe in.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2025

Also spreading throughout the United States at the same time was the Red Scare.

From Salon • Nov. 5, 2024

The decade of the 1950s was the time of the Red Scare.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.