witch-hunt

witch-hunt
n. phr.
A hysterical movement during which people are persecuted for having views (political or religious) considered different or unpopular.

During the McCarthy era many innocent Americans were accused of being Communists, as Republican patriotism deteriorated into a witch-hunt.


Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". . 1997.

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  • Witch-hunt — Witch trial redirects here. For the song by Rush, see Fear series. For the novel by Ian Rankin, see Witch Hunt (novel). A witch hunt is a search for witches or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic, mass hysteria and mob lynching,… …   Wikipedia

  • Witch hunt — may refer to: * Witch hunt, a search for suspected or alleged witches, or similar political accusations * Witch Hunt , the Ian Rankin novel (writing as Jack Harvey) * Witch Hunt , the movie, starring Dennis Hopper, loosely based on the work of H …   Wikipedia

  • witch hunt — witch′ hunt or witch′ hunt n. an intensive, often highly publicized effort to discover and expose those who are disloyal, subversive, etc., as in a government or political party, usu. on the basis of slight or doubtful evidence • Etymology:… …   From formal English to slang

  • witch-hunt — witch ,hunt noun uncount an attempt to find all the people in a particular group in order to punish them or treat them unfairly: He called the crackdown a witch hunt …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • witch-hunt|er — «WIHCH HUHN tuhr», noun. Informal. a person who conducts a witch hunt …   Useful english dictionary

  • witch hunt — witch hunter. witch hunting, n. an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. Also, witch hunt. [1925 30] * * * …   Universalium

  • witch-hunt — n an attempt to find and punish people in a society or organization whose opinions are regarded as wrong or dangerous used to show disapproval ▪ anti Communist witch hunts …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • witch hunt — 1640 in the literal sense; the extended sense is attested from 1932 (in witch hunting), popularized in Cold War anti Communist hysteria …   Etymology dictionary

  • witch-hunt — witch hunts N COUNT: oft N against n (disapproval) A witch hunt is an attempt to find and punish a particular group of people who are being blamed for something, often simply because of their opinions and not because they have actually done… …   English dictionary

  • witch hunt — n. [so named in allusion to persecutions of persons alleged to be witches] an investigation carried out ostensibly to uncover disloyalty, subversive political activity, etc., usually conducted with much publicity and often relying upon… …   English World dictionary

  • witch-hunt — ► NOUN ▪ a campaign directed against a person or group holding views considered unorthodox or a threat to society …   English terms dictionary

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