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McCarthyism

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Mc⋅Car⋅thy⋅ism

  [muh-kahr-thee-iz-uhm]
Use McCarthyism in a Sentence
–noun
1. the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, esp. of pro-Communist activity, in many instances unsupported by proof or based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.
2. the practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, esp. in order to restrict dissent or political criticism.
Origin:
1950, Americanism; after J. R. McCarthy; see -ism

Related forms:
Mc⋅Car⋅thy⋅ite, noun, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Mc·Car·thy·ism   (mə-kär'thē-ĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. The practice of publicizing accusations of political disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to evidence.

  2. The use of unfair investigatory or accusatory methods in order to suppress opposition.


[After Joseph Raymond McCarthy.]
Mc·Car'thy·ist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

McCarthyism

The extreme opposition to communism shown by Senator Joseph R. McCarthy and his supporters in the 1940s and 1950s.

Note: McCarthyism has become a general term for the hysterical investigation of a government's opponents or the publicizing of accusations against these opponents without sufficient evidence to support the charges.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

McCarthyism 
1950, from U.S. Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy (1908-57), leader of U.S. anti-Communist witch-hunt. The term is said to have been coined by "Washington Post" political cartoonist Herbert Block ("Herblock"). The surname is from Ir. Mac Carthaigh "son of Carthach" (Welsh Caradawc), an ancient Celtic name, also known in its Latinized form, Caractacus (last of the British leaders to resist Rome, captured 51 C.E.)
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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