witch-hunt
English
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witch-hunt
- /ˈwɪtʃhʌnt/ UK
Where it comes from
From witch + hunt.
noun witch-hunts · witchhunt · witch hunt
- A search for people believed to be using sorcery or harmful magic, typically in order to persecute or punish them. To-night ye will see. It is the great witch-hunt, and many will be smelt out as wizards and slain.
- An attempt to find and punish or harass a group of people perceived as a threat, usually on ideological or political grounds. Rank-and-file Communists everywhere are led away on a senseless witch-hunt after 'Trotskyists'.
- A public or political campaign or investigation which smears a person or group. Even fewer people could believe that the UNCW administration would actually undertake a witch hunt against me, even going so far as to invoke their right to read my personal e-mails because they were on the university's system.
verb witch-hunts · witch-hunting · witch-hunted · witchhunt · witch hunt
- To aggressively pursue, investigate, or persecute individuals or groups based on unsubstantiated accusations, often driven by fear, ideology, political expediency, moral panic, etc.
Translations
Every language
noun persecution of persons believed to be using magic
| Español | caza de brujas |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 마녀사냥 manyeosanyang |
| 日本語 | 魔女狩り majogari |
| 中文 | 獵巫 /猎巫 lièwū, 獵女巫 /猎女巫 liènǚwū |
| Português | caça às bruxas |
| Français | chasse aux sorcières |
| Deutsch | Hexenjagd |
| Italiano | caccia alle streghe |
| Ελληνικά | κυνήγι μαγισσών kynígi magissón |
| Română | vânătoare de vrăjitoare |
| Русский | охо́та на ведьм oxóta na vedʹm |
| العربية | مُطَارَدَةُ السَّاحِرَاتِ muṭāradatu s-sāḥirāti |
noun campaign to punish dissident persons
| Español | caza de brujas |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 마녀사냥 manyeosanyang |
| 中文 | 政治迫害 zhèngzhì pòhài |
| Português | caça às bruxas |
| Français | chasse aux sorcières |
| Deutsch | Hexenjagd |
| Italiano | caccia alle streghe |
| Ελληνικά | κυνήγι μαγισσών kynígi magissón |
| Русский | охо́та на ведьм oxóta na vedʹm |
Talk about this word "witch-hunt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/witch-hunt. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. witch-hunt. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/witch-hunt "witch-hunt." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/witch-hunt.
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@misc{witch_hunt_2026,
title = {witch-hunt},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/witch-hunt},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
