witch-hunt
/ˈwɪtʃhʌnt/ noun, verb
Forms witch-hunts witch-hunting witch-hunted witchhunt witch hunt
- noun (now chiefly historical) A search for people believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, typically in order to persecute or punish them.
- noun (figurative, by extension) An attempt to find and punish or harass a group of people perceived as a threat, usually on ideological or political grounds.
- noun (figurative, by extension) A public or political campaign or investigation which smears a person or group.
- verb (informal, figurative, transitive) To aggressively pursue, investigate, or persecute individuals or groups based on unsubstantiated accusations, often driven by fear, ideology, political expediency, moral panic, etc.
Etymology
From witch + hunt.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “witch-hunt”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details