witch-hunt

Etymology

• witch +‎ hunt
• The verbal noun witch-hunting in the literal sense from 1640, the metaphorical sense from 1932, popularized during the Cold War anti-Communist hysteria in the USA.

The noun witch-hunt itself in the literal sense dates to 1885, in the metaphorical sense to 1938. The sense of a campaign against a single individual dates to 1960 (OED).

Noun

witch-hunt (plural witch-hunts)

1. (historical) A search for witches, persons believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, in order to persecute and typically kill them.
2. An attempt to find and publicly punish a group of people perceived as a threat, usually on ideological or political grounds.
   • 1938, George Orwell, Homage to Catalonia:

     Rank-and-file Communists everywhere are led away on a senseless witch-hunt after 'Trotskyists'.

3. A public smear-campaign against an individual.

See also

• peine forte et dure
• McCarthyism
• harassment
• Salem