Meaning
Literally, a hunt for people to prosecute as witches, as in the European and colonial trials of roughly 1450-1750; in modern use almost always figurative, meaning a hostile investigation or campaign that harasses people, usually political opponents, under cover of uncovering wrongdoing. Often hyphenated (witch-hunt) and strongly political in tone. Strongly loaded; using it frames the investigation in question as unfair by definition. Regional use: General English worldwide; figurative sense strongest in political journalism.
Origin
The literal persecutions ran from about 1450 to 1750, ending with episodes such as the Salem trials of 1692-93, but the phrase itself is a later coinage: Merriam-Webster dates its first known use to 1853, long after the trials stopped. The figurative political sense, which Merriam-Webster defines as the searching out and deliberate harassment of those with unpopular views, became a fixture of 20th-century argument, from the McCarthy hearings and Arthur Miller's 1953 Salem allegory The Crucible onward. Donald Trump then made the term a personal refrain, applying it to the Russia investigation, his impeachments, and later prosecutions; The Nation counted 294 'witch hunt' tweets from his presidency. Whether any given usage is justified is now precisely what the word is used to fight about.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- witch-hunting
- witchhunter
Usage Examples
- The historian's new book covers the witch hunts of the 1600s and the evidence the courts actually accepted.
- Opponents called the ethics probe a witch hunt; supporters called it basic accountability.
- Every new manager audits the department, and staff brace for another round of witch hunts.