witch hunt

Or witch-hunt

[wich-huhnt]

noun

1. (in historical use) the investigation, trial, and punishment of alleged practitioners of witchcraft.

2. an intensive inquiry, originally or purportedly to discover and expose dishonesty, subversion, or other wrongdoing, the scope and conclusions of which often include and bring harm to innocent persons or their reputations through reliance on hearsay or circumstantial evidence.

verb (used with object)

1. to subject to a witch hunt.

   The defendant claimed he was being witch-hunted due to his political activism.

witch-hunt

noun

1. a rigorous campaign to round up or expose dissenters on the pretext of safeguarding the welfare of the public

Other Word Forms

• witch hunter noun
• witch-hunting noun
• witch-hunter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of witch hunt¹

First recorded in 1885–90 witch hunt for def. 1; in 1935–40 witch hunt for def. 2; and in 1945–50 witch hunt for def. 3; the gerund witch-hunting was first recorded in 1635–40

Example Sentences

Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, a nonprofit group based in Harris-Dawson’s district, said he too views the inquiry from the two senators as a witch hunt — one that’s targeting L.A. city elected officials while ignoring Southern California Edison.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“He wanted to get rid of all these courses in the Legislature, and because of the political process, he was not able to do that. So he is moving to a different process of leading a witch hunt through social media to achieve the same goals.”

Read more on Salon

Brian Soucek, UC Davis law professor, worried the antisemitism investigations — which involve nearly every California public university — are “a witch hunt.”

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He had initially denied allegations put to him and first described the investigation as a "witch hunt".

Read more on BBC

And when charged with federal crimes over his handling of highly classified material, and his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, he dismissed the charges as a witch hunt choreographed by President Biden and his attorney general, a claim that had no basis in fact.

Read more on Los Angeles Times