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witch hunt - 4 dictionary results
witch hunt
–noun
| an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence. |
witch-hunt
[wich-huhnt] 
–verb (used with object)
| to subject to a witch hunt. |
Origin:
1925–30
1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To witch hunt
| witch-hunt also witch hunt (wĭch'hŭnt') n. An investigation carried out ostensibly to uncover subversive activities but actually used to harass and undermine those with differing views. witch'-hunt'er n., witch'-hunt'ing adj. & 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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
witch hunt
1640 in the literal sense; the extended sense is attested from 1932 (in witch-hunting), popularized in Cold War anti-Communist hysteria.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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