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witch-hunt

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witch hunt

–noun
an intensive effort to discover and expose disloyalty, subversion, dishonesty, or the like, usually based on slight, doubtful, or irrelevant evidence.


Origin:
1925–30


witch hunter, noun
witch-hunting, noun

witch-hunt

[wich-huhnt]
–verb (used with object)
to subject to a witch hunt.

Origin:
1925–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source 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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Word Origin & History

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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